Govt embarks on recruitment of health workers

Government, through the Ministry of Health, will next year recruit 9,500 health workers to man the modernised health facilities, upgraded institutions that include nursing schools and all the newly-created district hospitals and health posts. 

Ministry of Health Deputy Minister, Chitalu Chilufya said at the 40th, Copperbelt Nurses and Midwives graduation ceremony held at the Copperbelt University (CBU) in Kitwe on Friday that government is eager to addressing human resource challenges in the healthy sector. 

Dr Chilufya added that government will this year also recruit 1,938 health workers, adding that 100 per cent of nurses that graduated in the past and those that graduated over the weekend will be absorbed in the health sector. 

He said government has released the sum of K73 million to commence the recruitment of nurses, emphasising that the process will only run from August 2 to Friday, August 5, 2016. 

“We are making greater investments in human resource in addition to other pillars of the health system. We will continue to build new nursing schools and there is need for expansion of infrastructure for classroom and accommodation in the various nursing schools. 

“This is meant to increase uptake of students and hence output of nurses. I wish to inform you that government has released K73 million to commence the recruitment of nurses and the exercise runs from Tuesday to Friday. This reflects our burning ambition to ensure that human resource challenges in the health sector are addressed,” he said. 

The Health Deputy Minister, however, urged the newly graduated nurses and the old staff not to resist rural postings, adding that there are Zambians existing there and they need to be served diligently. 

“In order to reflect our priority in our new PF manifesto, focusing on strengthening health systems using the primary health care approach, emphasis shall be placed on deployment to health centres and health posts in rural areas in order for us to strengthen primary health care. 

“I would, therefore, like to strongly urge all the graduating nurses and all the old staff not to resist rural postings because there are Zambians that exist there that require to be served by us,” Dr Chilufya said.