Ondo govt releases employment letters to 930 new health workers

THE Ondo State Government has commenced the issuance of appointment letters to over 930 newly recruited health professionals in a move aimed at strengthening primary healthcare delivery across the state.

The exercise, which began at the headquarters of the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency in Akure, covers a wide range of healthcare personnel, including medical doctors, nurses, midwives, community health extension workers, laboratory scientists, pharmacy technicians and health information officers.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of the agency, Dr. Francis Akanbiemu, said the recruitment was designed to address manpower shortages in primary healthcare facilities across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas.

Akanbiemu explained that the recruitment process was conducted transparently and strictly on merit, in line with the state’s Human Resource for Health Policy aimed at expanding access to quality healthcare services at the grassroots.

He commended Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for approving the large-scale employment exercise, describing it as a demonstration of the administration’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery and ensuring that residents have access to qualified medical personnel.

According to him, the newly recruited workers have completed the necessary documentation and will be deployed immediately to underserved and hard-to-reach communities where they are expected to improve service delivery, reduce waiting times and strengthen maternal and child healthcare services.

The permanent secretary further disclosed that the 930 beneficiaries comprise 800 newly recruited personnel and 130 doctors and nurses employed earlier. He added that the government has continued to invest in the health sector through the revitalisation of primary healthcare centres, provision of essential medicines and regular capacity-building programmes for health workers.

Some of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the state government for the opportunity. A newly appointed nurse-midwife, Mrs. Adebimpe Olorunfemi, as well as pharmacy technician Ajibike Afolayan and scientific officer Azeez Olayinka, described the recruitment as life-changing and pledged to serve residents with professionalism, diligence and compassion.