Abia State Governor Alex Otti announced that his administration had discovered some doctors on its payroll who had left state employment in search of “Japa,” or better opportunities abroad.
The governor claims that even though these doctors are now employed outside of the state, they are still receiving salary from the government.
With the theme “Providing an Accessible, Affordable and Quality Healthcare System for the New Abia,” Otti revealed this information during his speech at the inaugural Abia State Council on Health at the International Conference Centre in Umuahia.
The governor noted that the state’s health sector had suffered as a result of doctors leaving the state, but he also pledged to reverse the trend by providing doctors with an additional welfare package starting in the following year.
The “japa” syndrome has undoubtedly had an impact on the health sector, he acknowledged, but this administration is making every effort to address the issue. In order to achieve this, the government has decided to improve welfare benefits that will be implemented starting in 2024 and promptly pay the wages of our healthcare workers.
The governor went on to say that in order to bolster the healthcare industry, his administration would hire more medical professionals.
“To improve healthcare service delivery in the state, we are in the process of recruiting new skilled birth attendants,” he stated. Additionally, as we continue to digitize the Abia State civil service, we have discovered some employees who have left their jobs in search of better opportunities but are still paid by the government. The key point is that there are fewer hands involved than previously reported, even though the relevant government agencies will handle the criminality involved in this. We are exerting great effort to close these gaps.
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The first State Council on Health, according to Commissioner for Health Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, was a sign of Otti’s administration’s dedication to giving development projects top priority in order to fully utilize Abia’s strategic human capital.
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