Care and Health in Nigeria: Why It Belongs at the Intersection of Healthcare, Social Care and Education—and How Nigerian Traditional Knowledge Can Shape Its Future

Introduction: Who Owns the Discipline of Care and Health?

Imagine a learning programme designed to prepare people to care for a toddler, support a child with additional needs, assist an adult recovering from illness, help an older person maintain independence, or provide compassionate support to someone living with a disability.

Now consider the knowledge required to perform these responsibilities competently.

The learner must understand hygiene, nutrition, physical development, emotional well-being, safety, communication, infection prevention, personal care, observation, safeguarding, and when to seek professional medical assistance.

In Nigeria, the learner may also need to understand the role of family structures, community support, indigenous caregiving traditions, culturally appropriate food practices, and the responsible use of traditional knowledge.

This raises an important question:

Should Care and Health be classified under Education or Healthcare?

The question becomes particularly relevant when a micro-credential programme is being developed and an education department seeks to position the subject within its own disciplinary territory.

Education undoubtedly has an important role in preparing competent caregivers. However, the existence of a teaching and learning component does not automatically make the subject primarily an education discipline.

After all, nurses receive education, doctors receive education, pharmacists receive education, and public health professionals receive education. Yet their professional disciplines are not classified exclusively as education.

The central question should therefore not be which department can teach care and health. It should be which disciplinary framework best represents the knowledge, competencies, responsibilities, and intended outcomes of the programme.

My argument is that Care and Health should be developed as an interdisciplinary field anchored in health and social care, supported by education, and enriched by appropriately documented and evaluated Nigerian traditional knowledge.

Such a framework would recognize the full continuum of care, from infancy to old age, rather than restricting the subject to classroom learning or a single healthcare profession.

It would also create an opportunity for Nigeria to develop culturally relevant, competency-based learning programmes that respond to the country's health, social welfare, employment, and lifelong learning needs.

1. Understanding Care and Health as a Distinct Field of Learning

Care and Health is broader than the treatment of illness.

It encompasses the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices required to maintain well-being, prevent avoidable harm, support recovery, promote independence, and provide appropriate assistance throughout life.

Care may be delivered in hospitals, primary healthcare centres, residential facilities, childcare settings, schools, workplaces, community organizations, and private homes.

It may also be provided by trained professionals, paid care workers, family caregivers, community workers, and other appropriately prepared individuals.

A comprehensive Care and Health learning framework should therefore address several connected areas.

A. Childcare and toddler care

This area covers the care of infants, toddlers, and young children.

Relevant learning outcomes include:

Understanding age-appropriate physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.
Maintaining appropriate hygiene and sanitation.
Supporting safe feeding and nutrition.
Understanding sleep routines and safe sleeping practices.
Recognizing signs of illness, dehydration, injury, and developmental concerns.
Preventing accidents and responding appropriately to emergencies.
Promoting positive interaction, attachment, and emotional security.
Understanding child safeguarding and protection.
Communicating effectively with parents, guardians, and relevant professionals.

These competencies are important for nannies, childcare assistants, nursery workers, and other people responsible for children's daily care.

However, childcare is not simply a matter of knowing how to look after a child.

It also requires an understanding of child health, development, nutrition, safety, and the boundaries between ordinary caregiving and professional medical intervention.

B. Nanny services and professional home-based childcare

Nanny services deserve recognition as a structured area of care work.

A nanny may be responsible for a child's daily routine, feeding, hygiene, play, supervision, and communication with parents.

Depending on the role, the nanny may also need training in first aid, safe food handling, emergency response, developmental observation, and safeguarding.

A structured learning programme could distinguish between basic childcare competencies and advanced responsibilities requiring additional qualifications.

For example, a nanny should know how to recognize that a child appears seriously unwell. However, recognition and referral are not the same as diagnosing or treating the illness.

A good training framework must make this distinction clear.

C. Adult care and personal support

Care does not end when a person reaches adulthood.

Adults may require assistance because of illness, disability, injury, limited mobility, or other circumstances affecting their ability to perform daily activities independently.

Relevant competencies include:

Personal hygiene and dignity-preserving assistance.
Supporting appropriate nutrition and hydration.
Maintaining a clean and safe environment.
Assisting with mobility within the caregiver's training and role.
Providing emotional support.
Recognizing changes in physical or mental well-being.
Maintaining confidentiality and respecting personal autonomy.
Understanding consent and appropriate professional boundaries.
Communicating concerns to healthcare professionals.

The emphasis should be on helping people maintain their independence wherever possible rather than creating unnecessary dependence.

D. Elderly care and healthy ageing

Nigeria's care workforce also needs learning opportunities that address the needs of older people.

Elderly care may involve supporting daily activities, preventing falls, reducing isolation, assisting with mobility, maintaining nutrition, and helping older people participate in family and community life.

Training should also address age-related changes, dementia awareness, caregiver stress, safeguarding, and respectful communication.

Importantly, ageing should not automatically be treated as illness. Older adults have different needs, abilities, preferences, and levels of independence.

A person-centred approach recognizes those differences.

E. Disability care and inclusive support

People living with disabilities may require different forms of assistance, depending on their circumstances and preferences.

A comprehensive programme should address accessibility, communication, dignity, autonomy, safeguarding, and appropriate support for daily activities.

It should also teach caregivers to avoid assumptions about what a person can or cannot do.

The objective is to support participation and independence, not merely to provide physical assistance.

F. Home-based and community care

Many care responsibilities take place outside formal healthcare institutions.

Family members may support relatives recovering from illness, living with chronic conditions, or experiencing age-related difficulties.

Community-based care can also involve health promotion, practical assistance, social connection, and referral to relevant services.

Learning in this area should cover the caregiver's role, household safety, hygiene, basic observation, communication, record-keeping where appropriate, and recognition of situations requiring professional assistance.

It should also acknowledge that family caregivers need support themselves.

G. Palliative and supportive care

People living with serious or life-limiting illnesses may need assistance that focuses on comfort, dignity, emotional support, and quality of life.

Appropriate introductory learning can cover compassionate communication, respect for patient preferences, family support, and recognition of the limits of a caregiver's responsibilities.

Specialist palliative care requires additional professional preparation.

These different areas demonstrate that Care and Health is not a narrow subject. It is a broad field concerned with the well-being of people across the life course.

2. Education Versus Healthcare: Where Should Care and Health Belong?

The disagreement between Education and Healthcare can be approached more productively by distinguishing between the discipline, the learning process, and the professional setting.

Education focuses on how people acquire knowledge and develop competencies.

Healthcare focuses on maintaining and improving health, preventing and addressing illness, and supporting physical and mental well-being through appropriate services.

Social care focuses on supporting people with daily living, independence, participation, dignity, and other needs that may not be met through clinical healthcare alone.

Care work can involve all three.

The fact that a person learns to provide care does not determine the disciplinary identity of that care.

A comparison of the three fields

Dimension	Education	Healthcare	Social care
Primary concern	Learning and development	Health, prevention, treatment and recovery	Daily living, independence and social well-being
Main knowledge base	Teaching, assessment and learning theory	Health sciences, clinical knowledge and prevention	Care practice, social support and person-centred assistance
Application to childcare	Child development and learning	Child health, nutrition and safety	Daily care, protection and family support
Application to adult care	Training and competency development	Health monitoring within the relevant professional scope	Personal assistance, independence and social inclusion
Role in a Care and Health programme	Designs and delivers learning	Supplies health-related knowledge and standards	Supplies care-related knowledge and practice standards

This comparison reveals that none of the three fields can adequately represent every aspect of care by itself.

Nevertheless, their contributions are not identical.

If a programme's main objective is to train people to provide safe, competent, person-centred care, its primary disciplinary home should reflect health and social care.

Education should support the programme through curriculum design, teaching methods, assessment, accreditation arrangements, and the development of micro-credentials.

Healthcare and social care should inform the competencies, practice standards, safety requirements, and professional boundaries.

This distinction matters because a programme designed to teach someone how to provide care is not necessarily a programme designed to teach someone how to teach.

The first develops care competencies. The second develops educational competencies.

They are related, but they are not the same.

Why the distinction matters for micro-credentials

Micro-credentials are designed to recognize defined learning outcomes and competencies.

A micro-credential in childcare, for example, might demonstrate that a learner has achieved specified competencies in hygiene, safe supervision, nutrition, child development, safeguarding, and emergency awareness.

A micro-credential in elderly care might cover personal assistance, communication, mobility support, dementia awareness, infection prevention, and recognition of deterioration.

These programmes can use educational methods without being classified solely as education disciplines.

The appropriate classification should depend on the intended learning outcomes, the occupational role, the knowledge base, and the standards governing the work.

The method of teaching a subject should not be confused with the professional discipline that defines the subject.

That is the central distinction worth emphasizing in the discussion about disciplinary ownership.

3. My Position: Care and Health Should Be Anchored in Health and Social Care

I would not argue that Care and Health belongs exclusively to conventional clinical healthcare.

That position would be too narrow.

A nanny does not perform the same role as a nurse. A home-care assistant does not automatically perform the role of a doctor. A family caregiver does not become a licensed healthcare professional merely by completing a short course.

Care work includes both clinical and non-clinical responsibilities.

For this reason, I would recommend positioning the proposed field under a broader Health and Social Care framework.

Within this framework, the programme could include:

Childcare and early-years care.
Nanny and home-based childcare services.
Adult care and personal assistance.
Elderly care and healthy ageing.
Disability support and inclusive care.
Community-based care.
Family caregiving.
Health promotion and disease prevention.
Traditional knowledge relevant to health, well-being, and caregiving.
Care coordination, safeguarding, and referral.
Professional ethics and caregiver development.

Education would remain an essential partner.

Universities, technical institutions, vocational training providers, professional bodies, and micro-credential platforms could collaborate to design and deliver the learning.

The relevant health, social welfare, education, and regulatory authorities would each contribute according to their responsibilities.

This approach avoids an unnecessary competition between disciplines.

Instead, it establishes a clear organizing principle: the programme is defined by the care competencies it develops, while different disciplines contribute the knowledge and methods needed to develop those competencies.

It also leaves room for different levels of qualification, from introductory caregiver training to advanced professional programmes.

4. The Nigerian Dimension: Why Traditional Knowledge Belongs in the Discussion

A Care and Health programme developed in Nigeria should not simply reproduce a generic curriculum without considering the country's cultural and social context.

Nigerian communities possess diverse traditions concerning family care, childbirth, feeding, child-rearing, ageing, communal responsibility, food preparation, medicinal plants, and responses to illness.

Some knowledge is transmitted through families. Other knowledge is held by traditional practitioners, birth attendants, herbal practitioners, community elders, and other custodians of indigenous knowledge.

This heritage deserves serious consideration.

However, it is important to distinguish between traditional caregiving knowledge, traditional medicine, and established healthcare procedures.

These areas overlap, but they are not interchangeable.

For example, a traditional practice that promotes family support or encourages the preparation of familiar, nutritious foods may be suitable for inclusion in caregiver education after its relevance and safety are assessed.

A traditional herbal preparation claimed to treat a serious illness raises different questions about ingredients, dosage, toxicity, interactions, efficacy, and regulatory requirements.

The two should not be evaluated in exactly the same way.

The goal should be to develop a framework that preserves valuable knowledge while protecting the people receiving care.

What Nigeria's traditional medicine policy contributes

The earlier article, Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Enters a New Era: Why the 2025 Strategic Plan and Code of Ethics Matter, provides a useful starting point.

The article discusses the federal government's efforts to strengthen traditional medicine through documentation, research, standardization, professional ethics, safety, and integration into the national health system.

The underlying policy documents are particularly relevant to this proposal.

Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy, second edition, October 2023, identifies practitioner training, knowledge and skill assessment, curriculum development, collaboration, and the development of occupational standards as important areas of work. It also addresses the relationship between traditional medicine and conventional healthcare. (Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare)

In September 2025, the Federal Ministry announced the unveiling of a Strategic Plan of Action for implementing the Traditional Medicine Policy and a Code of Ethics and Practice for Traditional Medicine Practitioners. The stated direction emphasizes evidence, professional conduct, safety, quality assurance, and responsible integration. (Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare)

The World Health Organization's Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 reinforces the importance of evidence, appropriate regulation, cultural respect, sustainability, and the safe integration of traditional and complementary medicine into health systems. (WHO: Global Traditional Medicine Strategy)

These policy directions are relevant because they support a framework in which traditional knowledge is neither dismissed automatically nor accepted without scrutiny.

They do not, however, establish that every traditional caregiving practice is safe, effective, or appropriate for formal training.

That determination must be made according to the nature of the practice and the evidence available.

The opportunity is to bring Nigerian traditional knowledge into structured care education through documentation, appropriate evaluation, ethical collaboration, and clear standards of practice.

5. What Nigerian Traditional Practices Could Be Incorporated into Care and Health Learning?

The following areas offer practical starting points.

They are proposed curriculum areas, not a claim that every practice described is already validated or officially endorsed.

A. Family and community caregiving

In many Nigerian communities, care is understood as a shared responsibility involving parents, grandparents, extended family members, neighbours, and other trusted people.

This social organization can offer valuable material for caregiver training.

A learning module could examine:

The contribution of extended families to childcare and elder care.
Intergenerational knowledge transfer.
Community support for people living with disabilities.
The role of family members during recovery from illness.
The relationship between social connection and emotional well-being.
The challenges faced by families when care responsibilities become overwhelming.

The objective would not be to romanticize traditional family structures or assume that every family provides safe and supportive care.

Instead, the programme would identify practices that support well-being while recognizing the importance of consent, safeguarding, privacy, and individual autonomy.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to identify culturally appropriate sources of family and community support while protecting the rights and dignity of the person receiving care.

B. Traditional approaches to child-rearing

Nigerian communities have diverse child-rearing practices, including storytelling, songs, play, participation in family activities, and the transmission of social values through interaction with older family members.

These practices may offer useful material for understanding emotional development, socialization, language, cultural identity, and intergenerational relationships.

A learning programme could examine how storytelling and songs can support communication, bonding, memory, and cultural learning.

It could also explore traditional games and activities that encourage movement, cooperation, and social interaction.

However, practices should be evaluated individually.

Some inherited approaches to discipline, feeding, or child management may conflict with contemporary safeguarding standards or evidence about child development.

A responsible curriculum would preserve beneficial cultural knowledge without presenting every inherited practice as appropriate.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to use culturally relevant play, storytelling, songs, and positive interactions to support children's development while adhering to child-protection standards.

C. Traditional food knowledge and nutrition

Food is an important area in which Nigerian cultural knowledge and modern health education can interact.

Different Nigerian communities possess extensive knowledge of local foods, food preparation, preservation, seasonal availability, and feeding traditions.

A curriculum could examine:

Locally available foods and their nutritional contributions.
Traditional food preparation methods.
Household food hygiene.
Safe storage and handling.
Age-appropriate feeding.
Dietary diversity.
Food practices for older adults and people with specific care needs.
The cultural importance of meals and shared eating.

Traditional foods should be assessed according to their nutritional composition, preparation, and suitability for the person receiving care.

For example, a food that is appropriate for a healthy adult may not be suitable for an infant or a person with swallowing difficulties.

Similarly, the needs of someone living with a medical condition may require individualized advice from a qualified health professional.

The programme should therefore combine local food knowledge with contemporary nutrition principles.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to identify culturally familiar foods, apply safe food-handling practices, and support appropriate nutrition within their caregiving responsibilities.

D. Traditional postpartum and maternal support

Traditional approaches to supporting mothers after childbirth may include assistance with household activities, food preparation, rest, emotional encouragement, and practical care for the newborn.

These practices provide an opportunity to examine the relationship between cultural traditions, family support, maternal well-being, and newborn care.

A curriculum could document different community practices and evaluate which forms of support are compatible with contemporary maternal and newborn health guidance.

The programme must also distinguish supportive care from clinical intervention.

Maternal or newborn warning signs require timely assessment by qualified healthcare professionals. Traditional practices must not delay emergency care or replace recommended clinical services.

Any teaching about postpartum practices should also address maternal consent, newborn safety, hygiene, and the risks associated with unverified substances or procedures.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to provide culturally sensitive, non-clinical support to mothers and families while recognizing warning signs that require professional medical attention.

E. Traditional knowledge concerning medicinal plants

Medicinal plants represent a particularly important area for a programme connected to Nigerian traditional medicine.

The country has a rich heritage of plant knowledge, and some traditional remedies may warrant further scientific investigation.

However, teaching medicinal plant knowledge requires greater caution than teaching general caregiving practices.

A curriculum could include the following subjects:

Documentation of indigenous plant names and their local uses.
Botanical identification.
Distinguishing documented traditional uses from scientifically established therapeutic effects.
Potential toxicity and adverse reactions.
Risks associated with contamination or incorrect identification.
Possible interactions with prescribed medicines.
The importance of quality control and appropriate regulation.
Ethical research involving traditional knowledge holders.
Conditions requiring referral to qualified healthcare professionals.

A key distinction must be maintained: documenting that a community traditionally uses a plant for a particular purpose does not establish that the plant is safe or effective for that purpose.

This is especially important in childcare, pregnancy, breastfeeding, elderly care, and situations involving chronic illness.

A caregiver should not independently prescribe herbal remedies or administer unverified preparations to vulnerable people.

Where medicinal products are considered for formal use, their assessment must follow the relevant evidence, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.

The Nigerian Herbal Pharmacopoeia and other appropriate authoritative resources may provide useful reference points for further investigation, subject to the scope and limitations of the available documentation.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to recognize the cultural significance of medicinal plant knowledge, understand the distinction between traditional use and demonstrated efficacy, and identify the safety and referral issues associated with herbal products.

F. Traditional approaches to ageing and elder support

In many Nigerian communities, older people have traditionally occupied important positions within families and communities.

Intergenerational relationships can provide opportunities for companionship, storytelling, cultural continuity, and social participation.

A learning module could explore how family and community relationships may contribute to older people's emotional and social well-being.

It could also examine traditional expectations concerning elder care, including the benefits and challenges of family caregiving.

The programme should not assume that every older person wants to live with extended family or that family members always have the resources to provide adequate support.

Instead, it should emphasize respect for personal preferences, independence, privacy, and dignity.

Traditional knowledge about ageing should complement appropriate guidance on falls prevention, nutrition, medication safety, dementia awareness, and professional healthcare.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to provide respectful, culturally responsive support to older adults while promoting independence and recognizing when additional assistance is needed.

G. Traditional practices involving massage, movement, and physical support

Some communities maintain traditional practices involving massage, movement, and physical methods of comfort or support.

These practices may warrant documentation and evaluation, but their inclusion in training should depend on the specific technique, its intended purpose, the available evidence, and the risks involved.

A caregiver course should not automatically teach traditional manipulation techniques or procedures that could injure a person.

Instead, learners can study the cultural context of these practices, the importance of consent, the identification of contraindications, and the distinction between ordinary comfort measures and procedures requiring specialized training.

Where a practice has a credible evidence base and meets appropriate safety standards, it may be considered for further development within a suitable scope of practice.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to distinguish low-risk supportive activities from techniques that require specialist assessment, training, or professional authorization.

H. Indigenous languages and culturally appropriate communication

Communication is essential to effective care.

A caregiver who can communicate in a person's preferred language may be better placed to understand their concerns, explain routine activities, and build trust.

Nigeria's linguistic diversity makes this an important area for curriculum development.

Training could include culturally appropriate ways to communicate with children, older adults, people with communication difficulties, and families from different backgrounds.

It could also examine how cultural expectations affect discussions about illness, disability, ageing, and seeking professional assistance.

Cultural sensitivity must not become an excuse for withholding information or overriding the wishes of the person receiving care.

The goal is to communicate clearly while respecting the individual's rights.

Potential learning outcome: Learners should be able to communicate respectfully across relevant cultural and linguistic contexts while maintaining confidentiality, consent, and professional boundaries.

6. A Proposed Nigerian Traditional Knowledge Framework for Care and Health

The preceding examples suggest that traditional knowledge should not be inserted into a curriculum as an unstructured collection of customs.

It should be organized through a framework that identifies the nature of the knowledge, its intended use, the evidence available, and the safeguards required.

I propose the following five-part model.

Pillar 1: Documentation and preservation

The first responsibility is to document relevant indigenous knowledge before it is lost.

This could involve collaboration with:

Traditional medicine practitioners.
Community elders and knowledge holders.
Childcare practitioners and experienced caregivers.
Researchers in Nigerian history and culture.
Nutrition and public health specialists.
Universities and research institutions.
Relevant government agencies and professional bodies.

Documentation should capture the cultural context of a practice, its community of origin, the knowledge holders' explanations, and any known limitations or concerns.

It should also distinguish between general caregiving knowledge and practices that claim to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease.

Traditional knowledge should not be extracted from communities without appropriate consent, recognition, and safeguards.

Pillar 2: Evidence and safety assessment

The second pillar is evaluation.

Different practices require different assessment methods.

A storytelling tradition used to encourage interaction with children does not require the same testing as a medicinal plant claimed to treat a serious disease.

A sensible framework would therefore categorize practices according to their nature and potential risk.

For example:

General caregiving practices: Assess their relevance, cultural acceptability, safeguarding implications, and compatibility with established care standards.
Food and nutrition practices: Examine nutritional value, food safety, age suitability, and relevant dietary requirements.
Physical techniques: Assess their intended use, practitioner competence requirements, contraindications, and risk of injury.
Medicinal products: Evaluate identity, quality, safety, interactions, and evidence of efficacy according to applicable standards.
Practices involving diagnosis or treatment: Determine whether they fall within a legally recognized and appropriately regulated scope of practice.

Where evidence is insufficient, the programme should say so.

Uncertainty should not be concealed, and cultural importance should not be confused with demonstrated clinical effectiveness.

Pillar 3: Curriculum development and competency standards

The third pillar is the conversion of appropriate knowledge into structured learning outcomes.

Each module should specify what learners must know, what they must be able to do, how their competence will be assessed, and the limits of their responsibilities.

For example, a learner may be taught to recognize common warning signs in a child and respond according to an approved referral protocol.

That does not mean the learner is qualified to diagnose the condition.

Similarly, a learner may study traditional medicinal plant knowledge without being authorized to prescribe or administer herbal treatments.

The curriculum must make these distinctions explicit.

Pillar 4: Ethical practice and protection of traditional knowledge

The fourth pillar concerns the rights of the people who hold and share indigenous knowledge.

Traditional knowledge can have cultural, scientific, and economic value.

Its documentation and use should therefore address:

Free, prior, and informed consent where applicable.
Attribution and recognition of knowledge holders.
Confidentiality where knowledge is restricted.
Community participation in decisions about disclosure.
Appropriate protection of intellectual property and associated rights.
Fair benefit-sharing where commercial or other benefits arise.
Compliance with relevant research ethics and legal requirements.

These safeguards matter because integrating traditional knowledge into formal education should not mean taking knowledge from communities without recognizing their contributions.

The purpose should be to strengthen the relationship between communities, researchers, educational institutions, and healthcare systems.

Pillar 5: Integration, monitoring, and continuous improvement

The final pillar is implementation.

A curriculum should not be considered successful simply because it has been written or a certificate has been issued.

Its value must be assessed through the competence of learners, the safety of care, the quality of teaching, and feedback from the people receiving support.

Relevant indicators might include:

Learner performance in practical assessments.
Adherence to safeguarding and hygiene standards.
Appropriate recognition and referral of health concerns.
Care-recipient and family feedback.
Compliance with relevant professional boundaries.
Evidence of improved caregiving knowledge.
Documentation of adverse events where applicable.
Respect for cultural diversity and traditional knowledge holders.

This approach would allow Nigeria to develop a learning framework that evolves as evidence, practice standards, and community needs change.

7. A Proposed Micro-Credential Structure for Care and Health in Nigeria

How could these ideas be translated into an actual learning programme?

I recommend a modular framework that permits learners to develop foundational competencies before progressing to more specialized areas.

The following is a proposal for curriculum development, not an existing officially approved Nigerian qualification.

Proposed module	Main learning focus	Intended application
1. Foundations of Care and Health	Principles of care, dignity, autonomy, and person-centred practice	All caregivers
2. Human Development Across the Life Course	Development, ageing, changing needs, and independence	Child, adult, and elderly care
3. Childcare and Toddler Care	Child development, hygiene, nutrition, supervision, and safeguarding	Nannies and childcare workers
4. Adult and Elderly Care	Personal assistance, mobility support, communication, and healthy ageing	Adult and elderly care workers
5. Disability and Inclusive Care	Accessibility, communication, dignity, and appropriate support	Inclusive care settings
6. Home and Community Care	Household safety, family support, basic observation, and referral	Home-based and community caregivers
7. Health, Hygiene, and Infection Prevention	Hand hygiene, sanitation, food safety, and infection prevention	All caregivers
8. Nutrition and Traditional Food Knowledge	Local foods, dietary diversity, food hygiene, and age-appropriate nutrition	Child, adult, and elderly care
9. Nigerian Traditional Caregiving Knowledge	Family care, cultural practices, community support, and knowledge documentation	Culturally responsive care
10. Traditional Medicine Literacy and Safety	Traditional medicine policy, evidence, product safety, and referral boundaries	Care workers and relevant practitioners
11. Communication, Ethics, and Safeguarding	Consent, confidentiality, professional boundaries, and protection from abuse	All caregivers
12. First Aid and Recognition of Emergencies	Recognizing danger signs and responding within approved training	All caregivers
13. Care Planning and Documentation	Individual needs, care plans, observation, reporting, and continuity	Relevant care roles
14. Professional Practice and Career Development	Scope of practice, teamwork, supervision, and continuing development	All learners

A programme provider could offer introductory micro-credentials in individual areas, followed by a broader certificate that combines the relevant modules.

Additional specialist pathways could be developed for childcare, elderly care, home care, disability support, or traditional medicine practice.

However, the programme must not imply that a short micro-credential automatically qualifies someone to practise nursing, medicine, midwifery, or another regulated profession.

Where a role is regulated, the relevant statutory requirements must still be met.

Why a modular structure is useful

Not every caregiver needs identical training.

A nanny may require detailed preparation in child development, safe supervision, feeding, and safeguarding.

A caregiver supporting an older adult may need additional competencies in mobility, dementia awareness, personal assistance, and recognition of deterioration.

A traditional medicine practitioner may require training relevant to product safety, professional ethics, documentation, and applicable regulatory standards.

A modular structure allows common competencies to be shared while ensuring that specialist content is appropriate to each role.

It also creates opportunities for continuing professional development and recognition of prior learning, provided the assessment and recognition arrangements are valid and consistent with applicable requirements.

8. Who Should Govern the Discipline?

If Care and Health is to become a credible field of learning, the question of ownership must be resolved through a transparent governance structure.

It would be unwise to assume that one ministry, department, university faculty, or professional group should control every aspect of the field.

Different components of the programme fall within different areas of expertise and regulatory responsibility.

The health sector

The health sector should contribute the relevant health knowledge, infection prevention standards, clinical safety requirements, referral guidance, and professional boundaries.

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and relevant professional and regulatory bodies would have important roles where the programme concerns traditional medicine, public health, or regulated healthcare activities.

The education sector

The education sector should contribute curriculum design, teaching and assessment methods, qualification development, quality assurance, and relevant accreditation processes.

Its role is essential to ensuring that the learning programme is educationally sound and that qualifications are awarded appropriately.

The social welfare and care sector

Social welfare agencies, care organizations, and relevant practitioners should contribute expertise in safeguarding, disability support, family care, older-person support, community services, and the protection of vulnerable people.

Their participation would help ensure that the programme reflects the realities of care work outside clinical settings.

Traditional knowledge holders and researchers

Traditional medicine practitioners, community representatives, relevant researchers, and knowledge holders should contribute to the responsible documentation and assessment of indigenous knowledge.

Their participation should not be merely symbolic.

They should have meaningful opportunities to explain the context of their knowledge, identify risks, contribute to curriculum development, and participate in decisions affecting its use.

Employers and care workers

Nannies, care workers, home-care providers, families, and employers should also be involved.

They can identify practical skill gaps, workplace challenges, and the competencies needed to deliver safe and effective care.

Their feedback can help ensure that the qualification remains relevant to employment and everyday caregiving.

A proposed governance model

I recommend establishing a Care and Health Curriculum Working Group involving representatives of the relevant sectors.

Its responsibilities could include:

Defining the scope of Care and Health as a field of learning.
Identifying the competencies required for different caregiving roles.
Mapping existing qualifications, standards, and regulatory requirements.
Developing curriculum modules and assessment criteria.
Establishing a framework for evaluating Nigerian traditional caregiving knowledge.
Identifying which learning outcomes require practical demonstration or supervised experience.
Developing appropriate referral, safeguarding, and professional-boundary guidance.
Recommending the relevant approval and accreditation pathways.
Establishing mechanisms for periodic curriculum review.

This would allow the education sector to perform its educational role without claiming exclusive ownership of all the professional knowledge involved.

Likewise, it would allow the health sector to guide health-related competencies without assuming that every form of social care is clinical healthcare.

The result would be a more coherent and practical framework.

9. How This Approach Aligns With Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy

Your proposed framework is particularly relevant to the direction set out in Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy.

The policy recognizes the importance of knowledge and skill assessment, practitioner training, curriculum development, occupational standards, and collaboration between relevant stakeholders.

It also addresses safety, research, regulation, and the responsible relationship between traditional and conventional medicine. (Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare: Traditional Medicine Policy)

These priorities suggest several practical implications for Care and Health learning.

First, traditional knowledge should be documented systematically.

The programme could create structured learning resources recording relevant caregiving practices, local terminology, cultural context, and available evidence.

Second, training should be competency-based.

Learners should demonstrate that they can perform the tasks required for their roles, rather than simply memorize information about traditional practices.

Third, safety must remain central.

A traditional practice should not be incorporated into practical training merely because it has been used for generations. Its suitability must be assessed in relation to the intended use, potential risks, and relevant standards.

Fourth, traditional medicine should be distinguished from general caregiving.

A module on traditional caregiving knowledge may examine family support, food traditions, and culturally appropriate communication.

A module on traditional medicine may address medicinal products, practitioner responsibilities, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.

These modules can complement each other without being treated as identical.

Fifth, indigenous knowledge holders should be respected.

Curriculum developers should consider consent, attribution, protection of sensitive knowledge, and fair benefit-sharing.

Sixth, integration should be evidence-informed.

The programme should make clear which practices are culturally documented, which have been assessed for safety, which have evidence supporting specific uses, and which remain uncertain.

These distinctions would help ensure that the programme supports both cultural preservation and responsible care.

It is equally important to recognize that Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy is not, by itself, a complete national regulatory framework for every nanny, care worker, or social care occupation.

The proposed Care and Health framework would therefore need to be developed alongside the relevant rules and standards governing childcare, healthcare, social welfare, occupational training, and other applicable areas.

That distinction would make the proposal more credible and easier to implement.

10. Why Care and Health Matters for Nigeria's Workforce and Economy

The case for a comprehensive Care and Health learning framework is not limited to disciplinary classification.

It also concerns workforce development, service quality, employment, and the growing need for competent caregivers.

Families need people who can care for children safely.

Older adults may need assistance to remain independent.

People living with disabilities may need support that respects their autonomy.

Individuals recovering from illness may need help with everyday activities.

Family caregivers need access to reliable information and opportunities to develop their skills.

A structured learning framework could help respond to these needs.

Professionalizing care work

Care work is sometimes treated as an informal activity that people can perform simply because they have experience looking after family members.

Experience is valuable, but it does not automatically guarantee competence in every caregiving situation.

A person may be experienced in childcare without understanding current safeguarding standards.

Another may have extensive experience assisting an older relative but lack the knowledge needed to recognize certain emergencies.

Structured training can help close these gaps.

Micro-credentials could offer accessible entry points for people seeking employment or professional development, provided the qualifications are appropriately designed and recognized.

Creating pathways for lifelong learning

Caregivers may begin with foundational training and progress to specialist qualifications.

For example, a learner could complete an introductory childcare micro-credential before undertaking additional training in early childhood development, inclusive childcare, or relevant specialist areas.

A person working in home care might progress to further training in elderly care, disability support, or care coordination.

These pathways could support professional development without assuming that every learner must complete a lengthy programme before acquiring useful skills.

Supporting local research and innovation

A properly designed programme could also create opportunities for Nigerian researchers and traditional knowledge holders to collaborate on the documentation and evaluation of culturally relevant care practices.

Such collaboration could strengthen curriculum development and contribute to wider research on traditional medicine and community health.

Where research leads to commercial opportunities, appropriate legal, ethical, intellectual property, and benefit-sharing arrangements would be important.

Strengthening family and community care

Formal training does not replace the contribution of families.

Instead, it can help family caregivers understand their responsibilities, recognize their limitations, and seek assistance when necessary.

This is especially important where people provide care without access to extensive professional support.

A national framework could therefore support both paid care workers and people providing unpaid family care.

11. Recommendations for Implementing the Care and Health Framework

For the proposal to move beyond discussion, I recommend the following steps.

Recommendation 1: Define Care and Health as an interdisciplinary field

The programme should have a clear definition that encompasses health-related care, social care, caregiving competencies, and culturally appropriate support across the life course.

Its disciplinary classification should be based on the intended outcomes rather than the administrative preference of a single department.

Recommendation 2: Identify the relevant occupational pathways

Before designing the curriculum, stakeholders should identify the roles the programme intends to support.

These could include nannies, childcare assistants, home-care workers, elderly care assistants, disability support workers, and family caregivers.

Each role should have clearly defined competencies and limitations.

Recommendation 3: Develop a national competency framework

Relevant stakeholders should identify the knowledge, practical skills, attitudes, and safety standards required for each pathway.

The framework should distinguish between shared competencies and specialist responsibilities.

Recommendation 4: Establish a Nigerian Traditional Care Knowledge component

This component should document relevant cultural practices and assess their suitability for inclusion in formal learning.

It should involve knowledge holders, researchers, care professionals, and relevant authorities.

It should also distinguish general caregiving knowledge from traditional medical treatments and other higher-risk practices.

Recommendation 5: Establish evidence and safety criteria

Every proposed traditional practice should be assessed according to its nature and intended use.

The programme should distinguish cultural significance, traditional use, preliminary research findings, and demonstrated effectiveness.

Practices that create unacceptable risks should not be taught as recommended care.

Recommendation 6: Use competency-based assessment

Assessment should include appropriate written work, practical demonstrations, scenario-based exercises, and supervised experience where required.

Learners should demonstrate their ability to provide care safely, communicate appropriately, recognize limitations, and seek assistance.

Recommendation 7: Develop a recognition and progression pathway

The framework should identify how micro-credentials relate to existing qualifications and occupational standards.

Recognition of prior learning may also be considered where valid assessment methods can establish competence.

The aim should be to create credible learning pathways rather than isolated certificates with unclear value.

Recommendation 8: Pilot the programme before wider implementation

A pilot could test selected modules in childcare, elderly care, and home-based care.

The pilot should assess learner competence, curriculum relevance, practical feasibility, and the adequacy of safeguarding arrangements.

Traditional knowledge modules should also be reviewed for cultural appropriateness, evidence, safety, and ethical integrity.

Lessons from the pilot could then inform revisions before wider adoption.

12. The Larger Question: Is Care Simply a Skill, or Is It a Body of Knowledge?

This is perhaps the most important question behind the entire discussion.

Care is often described as something people learn through experience.

There is truth in this view. Practical experience is an important component of caregiving.

However, care also involves knowledge about human development, health, nutrition, disability, ageing, communication, ethics, safety, and social relationships.

It requires the ability to recognize situations that exceed one's competence.

It requires judgment about when to provide ordinary assistance, when to seek advice, and when an emergency referral is necessary.

It also requires an understanding of how cultural practices influence people's expectations and experiences of care.

These are not merely isolated practical skills. They form a body of knowledge that can be studied, organized, assessed, improved, and transmitted through structured learning.

That does not automatically mean Care and Health must become a completely separate academic discipline in every institution.

The appropriate classification will depend on the institution, the qualification framework, the programme's scope, and the relevant regulatory arrangements.

Nevertheless, there is a strong case for recognizing Care and Health as a coherent interdisciplinary field with its own curriculum architecture, competency framework, and pathways for professional development.

Its identity should be defined by the needs of the people receiving care and the competencies required to support them.

Education is indispensable because those competencies must be taught and assessed.

Healthcare is indispensable because many caregiving responsibilities concern health, safety, prevention, and recovery.

Social care is indispensable because people need support with daily living, independence, relationships, and participation in society.

Traditional knowledge can contribute valuable cultural and practical insights, provided it is incorporated responsibly.

The challenge is not to choose one of these contributions and exclude the others.

The challenge is to organize them into a coherent system.

Conclusion: A Nigerian Vision for Care and Health

Nigeria has an opportunity to develop a Care and Health learning framework that recognizes the full range of caregiving responsibilities across the life course.

Such a framework would include childcare, toddler care, nanny services, adult care, elderly care, disability support, home-based care, and community caregiving.

It would recognize that caring for people requires more than goodwill or informal experience. It requires appropriate knowledge, practical competence, ethical conduct, and an understanding of professional boundaries.

It would also recognize that Nigeria's cultural heritage can contribute to the development of more contextually relevant learning programmes.

Traditional knowledge concerning family support, food practices, child-rearing, community relationships, and medicinal plants may offer useful starting points for documentation and evaluation. Each practice must nevertheless be assessed according to its purpose, evidence, and risks.

Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy and the government's more recent implementation initiatives provide a relevant policy foundation for discussing documentation, training, safety, professional standards, and responsible integration. The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 reinforces the importance of evidence-informed practice and respect for cultural heritage.

These developments do not mean that every form of care work falls under traditional medicine regulation. Rather, they demonstrate the importance of developing clear, appropriate standards for different forms of health-related knowledge and practice.

Returning to the original question—Education or Healthcare?—my position is that Care and Health should be anchored in a broader Health and Social Care framework, with Education as a strategic partner in developing and delivering the learning.

The objective should not be to exclude education from the field.

It should be to prevent the teaching process from being confused with the professional knowledge and responsibilities that learners are being taught to undertake.

Likewise, traditional knowledge should neither be dismissed because it is indigenous nor accepted without appropriate evaluation.

The objective should be to preserve valuable knowledge, protect the people who receive care, respect the communities that hold traditional knowledge, and improve the quality of caregiving.

A well-designed Nigerian framework could connect cultural heritage, modern health knowledge, social care, professional development, and lifelong learning.

Ultimately, the measure of success would not be which department claims ownership of the programme.

It would be whether the framework produces more competent caregivers, safer care, better support for families, greater dignity for children and older adults, and a stronger foundation for health and social well-being in Nigeria.

That is the opportunity before us: to build a Care and Health learning framework that reflects Nigeria's realities, respects its heritage, and prepares caregivers for the responsibilities of the future.

References and Further Reading

The following sources support the policy and conceptual foundations of this article.

Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria. Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Department. An overview of the department's mandate, including traditional medicine development, regulation, and integration into the healthcare system.

Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria. TCAM Policy Documents. Includes Nigeria's Traditional Medicine Policy and the Strategic Plan for Implementation of the Traditional Medicine Policy for Nigeria, 2025–2029

TCM Nigeria