Akwa Ibom Declares Health Emergency, Moves to Address Manpower Deficit

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has declared a state of emergency in the health sector, with a major focus on tackling the chronic manpower shortage that has crippled public healthcare delivery in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, disclosed this after the State Executive Council meeting on Saturday in Uyo, noting that the governor’s directives aim to stabilise operations across medical facilities and restore public confidence.

At the core of the measures is the approval to recruit 2,000 new health workers through the reopening of the state’s healthcare recruitment portal.

In a bid to encourage wider participation, the usual requirement of a voter’s identity card has been waived for applicants.

Governor Eno also directed the upgrading of health training institutions and the re-engagement of retired but willing medical professionals on contract to immediately bridge the human resource gap.

The announcement comes weeks after an investigative report exposed the dysfunction of the state’s ₦41bn specialist hospital, where only nine doctors and two consultants were reportedly managing the entire facility, leaving several critical units without specialists.

The situation had forced patients to seek diagnostics outside the hospital and, in extreme cases, source oxygen cylinders privately following the collapse of the in-house oxygen plant.

“The governor recognises that without adequate personnel, no amount of infrastructure will deliver results. That is why his first step is to boost manpower, retrain workers, and reopen recruitment immediately,” Umanah said.

He further disclosed that an inter-ministerial steering committee has been set up to ensure that the emergency directives are implemented promptly, with periodic reports submitted to the State Executive Council.

Stakeholders have welcomed the move, describing it as long overdue, while noting that sustainable solutions would require not just recruitment, but also improved welfare packages to retain skilled personnel in the state.

Punch