Thirty-three young health professionals drawn from the eleven local government areas of Gombe State were screened by the State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the National State-Wide Approach Programme (SWAP) Coordination Office and development partners, as part of the Federal Government’s Health Fellows.
Programme, as gathered by our reporter, is aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery at the grassroots.
The screening exercise was held at the Conference Hall of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Gombe and is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen healthcare service delivery at the grassroots through effective monitoring, reporting and accountability.
Speaking during the exercise, the Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, commended Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his continued support to the health sector.
“This programme aligns with the commitment of the present administration to strengthen healthcare delivery across the state, especially at the grassroots. We expect the selection process to be transparent and strictly based on merit to achieve the desired impact,” Dr. Dahiru said.
In an interview, the Acting Coordinator of the WHO Gombe Field Office, Hauwa T. Hassan, explained that the screening focused on professionalism, competence and the ability of candidates to contribute meaningfully to public health service delivery.
“The exercise is designed to assess the capacity of the candidates to effectively support health service delivery. WHO is committed to ensuring that the process is fair, credible and transparent,” she assured.
On the screening modalities, the Chief Panelist of the National Health Fellows Programme for the year and Provost of the School of Medical Sciences, Gombe State University, Professor Mohammed Manga, said each candidate was interviewed independently.
“The interviews were conducted separately to ensure objectivity, and the final selection will be based on cumulative scores obtained from the assessments,” Professor Manga explained.
Also speaking, the Gombe State SWAP Coordinator, Dr.Suraj Abdulkarim described the initiative as a Federal Government programme spearheaded by the Minister of Health to strengthen health systems across the country.
“Over one hundred applicants applied from across the eleven local government areas of Gombe State. After a rigorous process, thirty-three candidates were shortlisted and screened today,” he disclosed.
One of the participants from Shongom Local Government Area, Cyrus
Tunde Yakubu, expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the screening exercise.
“The process was well organised and transparent. If selected, I am ready to contribute my best to improving health service delivery in my community,” he said.
The programme is expected to select one health fellow from each local government area to support monitoring and reporting of health services, with the aim of improving performance and accountability in the health sector.