President Bola Tinubu has approved the conversion of the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu, to a full-fledged University of Allied Health Sciences. Special adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, said the move was part of his dedicated efforts to build robust human resources for the health and social welfare sectors. The statement clarified that the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy in Enugu will now be known as the Federal University of Allied Health Sciences, Enugu, and will be domiciled under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
This presidential directive comes at a time when President Tinubu, who doubles as the African Union Champion for Human Resources for Health, is set to train 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide within 16 months and to double the number of primary health facilities in local communities across all local government areas of the federation from 8,800 presently to over 17,000 over the next three years.
The Presidency also predicted that the decision would double the number of health personnel graduating from accredited nursing and midwifery institutions over the next three years to meet the aspirations of Nigerians for accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare services across the nation.
Thursday’s approval comes nearly one month after he was named African Union Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership.