The seven North-Western states have resolved to shut down private health training institutions that fail to meet the required legal and regulatory standards.

The decision, according to the Chairman of the North-Western States Commissioners of Health Forum and Jigawa State Commissioner of Health, Dr Abdullahi Kainuwa, aims to sanitise health personnel training and ensure the production of qualified medical workers across the region.

Kainuwa made this known while inaugurating the screening committee for private medical and health training institutions at the conference hall of the Jigawa State Ministry of Health in Dutse.

He said the initiative followed growing concerns over substandard facilities, inadequate academic staff and poor training standards in some private health institutions across the region.

According to him, the governments of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara States have agreed to work together to strengthen standards in private health training institutions.

He said the states could no longer allow institutions without the required facilities and qualified personnel to continue producing health workers.

“We can no longer allow substandard schools to produce health workers. The law is clear. If you don’t have the requirements, we will shut you down,” he said.

Kainuwa explained that the exercise was designed to protect public health and prevent the production of poorly trained health workers who could endanger lives.

“This exercise is about safeguarding public health and ensuring that only qualified personnel are trained to care for our people,” he stated.

The commissioner urged proprietors of private health training institutions in Jigawa to comply immediately with all legal and regulatory requirements.

He stressed that the government was not opposed to private investment in the health sector but would not tolerate shortcuts that could compromise healthcare quality.

“Government is not against private investment. We are against shortcuts that endanger lives,” Kainuwa said.

He further disclosed that the North-West health commissioners’ forum was united in its resolve to enforce standards, warning that no state would provide a safe haven for illegal health training institutions.

“No state will serve as a hiding place for illegal health schools. We will act together,” he declared.

Speaking to journalists after the engagement, Kainuwa said a joint monitoring team would be deployed across the seven states to inspect private health training institutions.

He said the team would verify laboratories, clinics, tutors, admission procedures, curricula and other accreditation requirements.

“We will verify labs, clinics, tutors, admission processes and all prerequisites. Anything short of standard will not be tolerated,” he said.

The commissioner said the decision was also informed by public complaints about graduates of some private institutions who lacked basic clinical skills despite holding certificates.

“The people have been calling for this. They deserve health workers who are properly trained and certified,” he added.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Taskforce on Private Health Training Institutions under the Jigawa State Ministry of Health and Technical Adviser to Governor Umar Namadi, Isa Surajo, said the taskforce would operate strictly within its mandate.

“Our job is to inspect, verify and recommend. There will be no sentiment and no cover-up,” Surajo said.

He explained that the exercise was aimed at restoring public confidence in health personnel training in Jigawa State and the North-West.

“We want our graduates to be accepted anywhere in Nigeria because they met the best standards,” he stated.

Surajo disclosed that the taskforce would assess facilities, review curricula and verify the qualifications of instructors in the affected institutions.

He warned that institutions without functional laboratories and qualified tutors would not be allowed to pass the re-accreditation exercise.

According to him, the monitoring process will be continuous rather than a one-off exercise, stressing that the objective was to establish a sustainable system for quality health personnel training.

Meanwhile, proprietors of private health training institutions were issued guidelines and timelines for the re-accreditation exercise and directed to submit the required documents to the ministry’s taskforce to avoid sanctions.

Efforts by our correspondent to obtain comments from some of the proprietors after the meeting were unsuccessful, as those approached declined to speak on the matter.

One of the proprietors, however, said they preferred to comment after completing the re-accreditation process and putting their documents in order. (The Nation)