We’ve employed 3,500 health workers in 4 years- Kano govt.

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Kano State Government has recruited 3,500 health workers of various cadres within the last four years, the state Commissioner for Health, Kabiru Ibrahim Getso said yesterday.
Addressing a press conference on celebrations of 2019 African Vaccination Week and World Malaria Day, held at the Ministry of Health, Getso, said the state government had employed over 200 nurses recently.
He also revealed that in the next two to three weeks, the government would recruit another batch of 300 nurses, midwives and community health care.
According to him, the state government operates a “no embargo” policy in employment in health sector through regular recruitment of critical manpower aimed at moving the sector forward.
The commissioner also said, “Kano had made remarkable progress in all aspects of immunization services, from cold chain and logistics, community mobilization, integrated R1 session planning and service delivery, monitoring and supervision introduction of new vaccines among others,”
According to him, in the year 2018, the administration of governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had recorded tremendous achievements which include; the establishment of Local Government routine immunization, coordination centres in all the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano and the installation of 10 new Solar Direct Drive refrigerators at the ward level in addition to sustaining its sourced delivery of vaccines to the last mile.
He however stated 99.4% of confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases recorded in 2018 were treated with ACTs with about 567 deaths attributable to the disease which in economic terms, malaria morbidity
and mortality had led to loss of billions of naira in cost of drugs, hospital stay, man-hour loss and other out of pocket expenses.
He said, “Ganduje administration had placed highest priority on saving the lives of Women and children through the provision of essential health services both at the primary and secondary care levels positing that the commitment was affirmed by providing adequate funds for the elimination of malaria in Kano State.
“this administration had been consistent in implementing policies and programmes aimed at improving the heath status of the people of Kano as demonstrated through many sustainable investments and political commitments in the health care sector,” he added
On polio eradication, the commissioner further revealed that for nearly five years now, Kano has been free of wild polio virus which was a pointer to the fact that Kano would attain the total eradication and certification that would signal the removal of Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries.