Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has granted approval for the employment of 31 medical doctors, 22 pharmacists and 153 nurses, in his bid to address the manpower deficit in the health sector of the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk, who made the disclosure to newsmen in his office in Calabar on Wednesday, 7th August 2024, said the development was a practical demonstration of the Otu-led administration’s commitment to the health and well-being of Cross Riverians.
Ayuk acknowledged that the unprecedented influx of those seeking health services from State-owned public health facilities was as a result of the people’s confidence in the renewed vigour in healthcare service delivery by the present administration.
He said that Cross River, with a population of approximately 3.4 million people, to grapple with a hitherto paltry number of 20 doctors and 938 nurses in the state’s secondary health facilities, remained a worrisome situation that Governor Otu was poised to address.
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The public health physician noted that the injection of new blood into the health sector through the employment of 31 medical doctors, 22 pharmacists and 153 nurses will in no small measure bridge the human capacity gap in the Health Ministry and equip the sector with the necessary manpower to carry out clinical activities in public health facilities across the state.
While thanking the Governor for his gracious approval, the Health Commissioner emphasised that “The strengthened workforce would greatly impact on healthcare service coverage and further make possible the overarching necessity for availability, accessibility and quality of healthcare as the highest attainable standard which health depends on” for the overall weal of the masses.
He further informed that the Governor’s approval has been transmitted to the State Planning Commission, Office of the Head of Service, and the Civil Service Commission for immediate commencement of the employment process.