…Sends SOS To Gov Wike
The ongoing employment of 10,000 workers by the Rivers State Government is already generating furor among Community Health Practitioners over alleged exclusion in the advertised list of vacancies.
Raising the protest under the aegis of National Association Of Community Health Practitioners Of Nigeria (NACHPN), Rivers State Chapter, the body in a letter addressed to the Chairman, Rivers State Civil Service Commission, decried the development, saying it will not only affect them as a profession but that the entire primary healthcare delivery system in the state would be in jeopardy.
The letter which was jointly signed by State Chairperson, Comrd (Mrs) Onuwa Justina Uche and Secretary, Dr. Nmeakor Letam Doole, appealed to Governor Nyesom Wike to compel the appropriate authorities to reverse the employment list to include Community Health Officers (CHOs) and Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs).
“We were trained at the same health institutions which other health professionals captured in the list were also trained. We are dully certified by the Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria (CHPRBN) established by Decree 52 of 1991.
“It is on record that community health practitioners have the highest responsibilities in terms of service delivery and also having the highest number of unemployed graduates languishing without employment.
What will be the fate of these qualified unemployed practitioners if community health practitioners are not employed at the end of the exercise”, the body asked.
On the implication of excluding Community Health Practitioners in the ongoing exercise, NACHPN feared that the communities will not benefit from such activities as community
mobilization, immunization, home visiting, treatment of minor illnesses, ante natal and home base organization works.
“Based on the above explanation, we conscientiously request the appropriate authority concerned to reconsider our plights and immediately reverse the trend to include all community health professionals. “Community Health Practitioners function across the three tiers of the health system and should not be omitted in the interest of fairness, justice and equity”, they said.
