By Haruna Gimba
The Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kenndy Ishaya, said the 177 nurses and midwives serving currently in Gombe are grossly inadequate for the state health sector.
Dr. Ishaya spoke in Gombe when he received accreditation team from the National Council of Nursing and Midwifery.
He said the nurses and midwives were working in 22 hospitals including the army, police and House of Assembly clinics.
“The workforce is grossly inadequate, considering increase in population following influx of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into the state,’’ he said.
Ishaya said before 2011 the College of Nursing and Midwifery in the state was graduating only five nurses and midwives, but later increased to 30 annually.
He expressed optimism that after the accreditation, the college would graduate up to 120 annually to meet growing population in the state.
The leader of the team, Malam Faruk Umar, said they were in the state to assess availability of personnel and infrastructure in the college and assured that the team would make objective assessment.
