The Ebonyi State Government has announced plans to recruit 2,000 qualified health workers across various cadres, including medical doctors, nurses, and community health extension workers.

The Executive Secretary of the Ebonyi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EBSPHCDA), Dr. Phillip Emeka Ovuoba, disclosed this in Abakaliki, noting that the recruitment drive is part of the government’s efforts to revitalise primary healthcare facilities and ensure that only qualified personnel deliver services to residents.

“We are proposing that the state government engage 2,000 health workers spread across these cadres. Many of our health workers are retiring, and we want to ensure there’s no gap in manpower while the revitalisation of facilities is ongoing. Any moment from now, the state will begin employing more health workers, including medical doctors,” Ovuoba said.

He explained that the recruitment forms part of a comprehensive plan by Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration to modernise healthcare infrastructure under the Primary Health Care Revitalisation Project.

The project includes the construction of new hospital structures, staff quarters, perimeter fencing, and the provision of solar-powered electricity, water supply, and improved welfare for health personnel.

Ovuoba noted that Ebonyi’s model for primary healthcare revitalisation is being praised nationwide for its depth and sustainability.

“In Ebonyi, every revitalised facility becomes a modern hospital with quarters, water supply, electricity, and fencing. It’s a complete overhaul,” he said.

He also revealed that the government has activated anti-quackery task forces in collaboration with local councils and the Ministry of Health to identify and shut down illegal health facilities, especially in Ohaukwu and Ezza North Local Government Areas, where unqualified practitioners are widespread.

Ebonyi, he added, is among ten states selected for the Maternal and Newborn Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative (MAMI), a federal programme supported by the wives of the President and governors. The initiative targets communities with high maternal and perinatal mortality rates linked to quack practices.

Under the programme, newly trained nurses, midwives, and community health workers will be deployed to rural communities to replace unqualified practitioners and improve access to safe, professional healthcare.

“The only way to end quackery is to provide qualified health workers and make government facilities functional. We are improving health posts, increasing medicine supplies, and expanding coverage so that people no longer rely on unlicensed providers,” he said.

Ovuoba appealed to community members to patronise government health centres rather than unauthorised clinics, noting that the state has established functional primary healthcare centres in all 171 political wards with support from the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF).

He reaffirmed the state’s commitment to achieving universal health coverage and bringing quality healthcare closer to rural dwellers.

“With the support of our governor and the First Lady, who has championed free maternal and child health services, Ebonyi is setting a new standard for community healthcare in Nigeria,” Ovuoba stated. (Vanguard)