The Taraba State Government said it recruited 300 additional health workers for the Primary Healthcare Centres across the state to boost healthcare service delivery.

The Executive Secretary, Taraba PHCs, Dr.Tukura Nyigwa, disclosed this to journalists in Jalingo on Sunday.

Mr Nyigwa said that the feat was achieved following a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).

The executive secretary stated that plans were underway to recruit an additional 150 health workers to ensure that PHCs were fully functional for enhanced quality of service to save lives.

He said, “Taraba Government has just concluded recruitment of 300 health personnel to boost healthcare service delivery at the PHCs level. The recruitment is made possible due to the MOU by GAVI, UNICEF, and the Taraba government on PHCs strengthening. The MOU has positively impacted vaccination for children in the hard-to-reach areas with coverage of Penta 3 vaccine from 43 to 80 per cent.’’

Mr Nyigwa also said that the MOU helped the state to strengthen the capacity of health personnel at the local government level for effective service delivery to the rural dwellers.

He noted that the activities of Mama to Mama (women advocating to younger women on healthcare-seeking behaviours) had tremendously increased the number of women for antenatal care, exclusive breastfeeding, and immunisation by rural dwellers.

The UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office recently organised a media dialogue in Gombe for journalists from Gombe and Taraba states to keep them abreast of the MOU on PHC strengthening in the two states.

Chief, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, charged journalists to champion the course of maternal and child health in their various places of work for a better society.

(NAN)