Governor Babagana Zulum has approved the immediate recruitment of 473 medical personnel and a 40 per cent rural posting allowance for nurses to strengthen healthcare delivery across Borno State.
The development was disclosed in Maiduguri by Prof. Abubakar Kullima, Chief Medical Director of the Borno State Hospitals Management Board, in a statement announcing the governor’s approval of the initiative.
According to Kullima, the recruitment is aimed at improving access to quality healthcare services and addressing manpower gaps in hospitals and primary healthcare centres across the state.
He explained that the approval covers a wide range of health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs), as well as technical and support staff.
The move is part of broader efforts by the Zulum administration to strengthen the health sector, expand access to specialised medical services and ensure more qualified personnel are available in both urban and rural communities.
Kullima said the newly recruited medical personnel would be deployed across general hospitals and primary healthcare centres in the three senatorial zones of the state to improve service delivery.
He added that the state government had also approved a 40 per cent rural posting allowance for nurses and a 100 per cent allowance for doctors willing to work in hard-to-reach communities.
The policy, according to him, is designed to attract and retain qualified medical personnel in rural areas where healthcare manpower remains limited.
Kullima further disclosed that the governor had recently approved special training funds for resident doctors and inaugurated new healthcare facilities, including eye and dental hospitals, to expand access to specialised medical services.
Nigeria continues to face a severe shortage of medical personnel, a challenge worsened by the migration of healthcare professionals abroad.
In October last year, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors disclosed that the country had one doctor for about 9,083 patients, far below the global recommended standard.
Nigeria is estimated to have about 11,000 resident doctors serving a population of more than 200 million people, while the health sector continues to grapple with brain drain as professionals seek better opportunities overseas.
The situation is even more difficult in rural communities where access to healthcare workers is limited.
States in the North-East, such as Borno, face additional pressure due to years of insecurity caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, which has displaced millions of residents and strained social infrastructure.
Borno State, located in northeastern Nigeria with its capital in Maiduguri, has a population estimated at over six million residents and covers 27 local government areas.
Earlier in July, the governor also announced a N1 billion financial support package for the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) to facilitate kidney transplants for underprivileged residents in the state.