Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti said that the state had discovered certain physicians on its payroll who had abandoned their jobs with the state and moved overseas in search of better opportunities—a practice known as “Japa.”
The governor on Thursday, said that even though these physicians have left the state workforce and are currently employed overseas, they are still receiving wages from the government.
Speaking on the topic of “Providing an Accessible, Affordable and Quality Healthcare System for the New Abia” during the inaugural Abia State Council on Health at the International Conference Centre in Umuahia, Otti revealed.
The governor noted that the state’s health sector had suffered as a result of physicians leaving the state, but he also pledged to reverse the trend by providing professionals with an additional welfare package starting in the next year.
According to him:
“The ‘Japa’ syndrome has indeed taken its toll on the health sector; however, this administration is not leaving any stone unturned in addressing this challenge. To this end, the government has resolved to motivate our health care workers through prompt payment of their wages and improvement of welfare packages that we will introduce from 2024.”
The governor went on to say that to bolster the healthcare industry, his government will hire additional medical professionals.
“We are in the process of recruiting new skilled birth attendants to improve healthcare service delivery in the state. Furthermore, our ongoing digitalisation of the Abia State civil service has uncovered some staff that have left their duty post for greener pastures, yet still receive remuneration from the government. While the criminality involved in this is going to be addressed by the relevant agencies of government, the important thing here is that we do not have the number of hands that were hitherto reported. We are working hard to fill these gaps,” he added.
cc: Punch Ng
