World Health Day: FCT needs additional 4,000 health workers

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board says not less than 4,000 additional health workers are needed to deliver effective and efficient health services across the territory.

The Acting Executive Secretary of the board, Dr Mathew Ashikeni, stated this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

Commemorating the 2018 World Health Day, Ashikeni explained that the health workers included medical doctors, midwives, laboratory technicians, medical record officers and pharmacists.

The theme of Health Day is this year’s ‘Universal World Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere’.

He said health workers that render services to millions of residents in the territory were inadequate compared to the rapid growing population of the FCT.

According to him, the last assessment showed that the FCT needed more than 60 per cent of what it currently has in terms of health workforce.

The secretary disclosed that in 2017, no fewer than 50 midwives were engaged and posted to serve the people in the rural areas.

Ashikeni said FCT administration was planning to recruit additional 200 midwives this year, adding that the plan for more midwives had been captured in the 2018 budget.

He noted, however that in spite of insufficient personnel, his board had embarked on different programmes to provide health care services to the rural dwellers.

He stated that part of the projects was the outreach programme for people in the hinterland and head camps where teams of health workers were sent to rural areas to treat common diseases.

The executive secretary said the present FCT minister was committed to providing health care services to all residents of the territory wherever they might be located. (NAN)