Anambra to recruit 250 health workers for PHCs

The Anambra State Government is planning to recruit 250 additional health workers to strengthen primary healthcare delivery, amid concerns over staff absenteeism and poor commitment among some personnel in public health facilities.

The proposed recruitment comprises 200 Community Health Extension Workers and 50 midwives.

Executive Secretary of the Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Chizoba Ezeasor, disclosed this in Awka, on Thursday, during a capacity-building programme for Ward Development Committees and Officers-in-Charge (OICs) of primary healthcare centres on maternal and child health system strengthening.

The workshop was organised by Justice, Development and Peace Caritas, Nnewi, under the Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK II) project, supported by the International Budget Partnership.

Ezeasor said, “The state government is proposing to recruit 250 additional health workers to strengthen primary healthcare delivery across communities.

“The recruitment will prioritise qualified and committed professionals willing to reside in the communities where they would be deployed. This will improve access to healthcare and promote accountability at the grassroots.

She, however, warned against political considerations in the selection process, insisting that only competent professionals genuinely prepared to serve should be engaged.

The ASPHCDA boss also expressed concern over reports that some Officers-in-Charge of primary healthcare facilities were not consistently available at their duty posts, calling for greater discipline and commitment among health workers.

She noted that the effectiveness of the state’s healthcare system should not be measured merely by the number of facilities constructed, equipment provided or personnel employed, but by the quality of services patients receive.

Ezeasor urged healthcare providers to ensure that pregnant women received prompt attention, adequate information, privacy and respectful treatment throughout antenatal care, childbirth and postnatal services.

While acknowledging the state government’s investment in free antenatal care and delivery services in public health facilities, she stressed that free services must also be accessible, safe, timely and of acceptable quality.

“Community feedback is an important mechanism for identifying shortcomings in healthcare delivery, understanding patients’ experiences and ensuring that complaints lead to corrective action.

“We assure the implementing partners that the Agency will collaborate with them to integrate the feedback mechanism into its existing monitoring, supervision and accountability structures,” she added.

Earlier, the Executive Director of SIDEC, Ugochi Ehiaruhuike, said the SPARK II project was designed to establish a structured community feedback system to replace informal and poorly documented complaints about primary healthcare services.

She explained that the initiative would strengthen the capacity of at least 50 WDC members and 24 PHC Officers-in-Charge to collect, document, analyse and respond to patients’ experiences, particularly concerning antenatal care, delivery and postnatal services.

Related News

• UNILAG VC promises intervention as health workers protest arrears
• Support Tinubu for development, APGA coordinator urges Anambra voters
• Rep urges FG, states to intensify anti-trafficking awareness

According to her, the feedback mechanism would connect community members, WDCs, PHC officers, local government health authorities and ASPHCDA to ensure that identified service gaps receive appropriate attention.

She identified high drug costs, inadequate sanitation, poor facility maintenance and unsatisfactory patient experiences as some of the challenges the project seeks to address.

Ehiaruhuike said standardised feedback forms, documentation guides and action-tracking tools would help community representatives present complaints systematically and enable healthcare authorities to monitor responses.

In a welcome address, the Director of JDPC Nnewi, Reverend Father Benedict Okoro, said the programme was aimed at strengthening community structures and healthcare providers to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

He acknowledged progress in reducing maternal mortality in Anambra but stressed the need for sustained efforts to prevent avoidable deaths among women and children.

The Executive Director of Civil Rights Concern, Mr Okay Onyeka, described maternal healthcare as a shared responsibility and called for stronger commitment to eliminating preventable maternal and child deaths.

Also speaking, the member representing Aguata II Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly and Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Mr Tony Muobike, described primary healthcare as the foundation of an effective healthcare system.

He commended the state government’s investment in free antenatal care and delivery services but called for stronger oversight to ensure that the interventions translated into improved healthcare outcomes.

Muobike also expressed concern over alleged absenteeism among some PHC officers, claiming that some personnel opened their facilities and left to attend to private businesses, while others delegated their responsibilities to volunteers.

He urged healthcare workers to demonstrate greater discipline and accountability, assuring that the legislature would continue to support efforts to improve service delivery through its oversight functions.

The SPARK II Programme Manager at JDPC Nnewi, Mr Onyekachi Ololo, emphasised the need for collaboration between WDCs and PHC officers in developing facility business plans based on identified service gaps and available resources.

He observed that some WDCs had become inactive despite retaining their positions and recommended replacing members unwilling or unable to perform their responsibilities.

The workshop featured sessions on patient feedback tools, respectful and patient-centred care, documentation of maternal health experiences, data quality, feedback analysis and identification of systemic challenges in primary healthcare delivery.

The organisers said the project would establish a quarterly feedback and reporting mechanism through which complaints would be documented, referred to relevant authorities, addressed and monitored, with unresolved issues escalated to local government health authorities and ASPHCDA.

They expressed optimism that the initiative would strengthen community participation and institutional accountability while ensuring that patients’ experiences informed improvements in maternal and child healthcare delivery across the state.