Rivers Govt Screens Candidates for National Health Fellows

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Rivers State government said it has commenced screening of 96 shortlisted candidates for enrolment into the National Health Fellows programme of the federal government.

The National Health Fellows programme is an interventionist initiative by the federal and state governments, following the declaration of a state of emergency on the health sector by President Bola Tinubu in 2023.

The programme, which is in partnership with World Health Organisation (WHO) and other development partners, is aimed at reducing the physical and financial burdens on health-seeking Nigerians.

Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, said the programme is expected to enrol 774 persons representing each of the local government areas in the country.

Represented by the Acting Director, Research and Planning, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr. Juliane Nwoke, Dr. Oreh, said out of the 96, nine persons have been interviewed.

She stated that the successful candidates would be engaged by the federal government for a period of one year to support the provision of healthcare services especially public health at both local, state and national levels.

She explained that core areas of competencies of shortlisted candidates includes public health, proficiency in Information and Communication Technology and data management.

Oreh said, “We have interviewed about nine candidates and by the end of today, we’ll be interviewing about 29 candidates. The interviews will end officially on Wednesday for Rivers State because we are expected to interview 69 candidates.

“Specific competencies were considered in the selection process with interest on competencies in public health, ICT and data management, so we received the shortlist of candidates which we expect are based on these competencies.

The State Commissioner for Health, who noted that there is a global and local shortage of manpower in the health sector, said “23 who qualify in this round will add to the skilled manpower that is needed to drive healthcare delivery.

“As per impact, these fellows would be engaged directly by the federal government for a period of one year to support healthcare delivery and population health management at the local government, state and perhaps national levels, working directly from their LGAs.”