The Sokoto State Government has given its nod to absorb over 800 nurses and medical doctors into the state civil service.
This announcement was made by the State Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Asabe Balarabe, during a gathering on Wednesday to mark the 2024 World Health Workers Week.
The event, which took place at the Sokoto Guest Inn, was organized by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Health Workforce Management Activity Sokoto.
Commissioner Balarabe clarified that those set to be absorbed include nurses and medical doctors who had been hired and received appointment letters during the tenure of the previous administration.
However, they had not been formally integrated into the civil service until now. The decision to absorb them was made possible by the approval of the current state governor, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto.
“The state government through the ministry has approved the payment of monthly allowances to Medical and health students those on three hundred level and above.
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“The state governor also directed the ministry to compile a comprehensive list of the graduating health students in the state for onward presentation to him.
“All this effort was inline with the current administration’s desire to have enough manpower in the health sector which is among its nine-point agenda” she added.
During World Health Worker Week, Asabe Balarabe lauded the dedication of health workers in Sokoto State, assuring them of the government’s commitment to their well-being and the advancement of the health sector by providing essential resources.
In his address at the event, retired Permanent Secretary Alhaji Hamza Isah Gwadabawa offered advice to the Sokoto State Government on improving and addressing challenges within the health sector.
He urged philanthropists to follow the example of former governors Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa and Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, as well as Alhaji Musa Bashir, in sponsoring the education of state residents in health-related fields both within and outside the state.