Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has expressed concern over the dearth of trained health personnel to man the more than 1,200 primary healthcare centres in the state. The governor made the remark on Friday in Bauchi when members of the traditional Council of Katagum Emirate, led by Alhaji Sule Katagum, the Wazirin Katagum, paid him a Sallah homage.

 

He said the state government was making efforts to bring healthcare services to the doorstep of rural dwellers by building hospitals and equipping them. He, however, expressed concern at the inadequate qualified healthcare professionals to man the centres.

 

He added that the state government had so far built more than 1,200 primary healthcare centres in the state and equipped them with the needed facilities but the centres lacked the manpower to provide medical services to the people.

 

``This is really a setback in our quest to ensure that our people have access to quality healthcare services at affordable price,'' he said. The governor urged students of Bauchi State origin to study medicine and other medical related disciplines which the state needed to meet the healthcare needs of the people. He said the state government would soon build another College of Nursing to train more nurses.

 

Earlier, Katagum said the visit was to pay homage to the governor and to felicitate with him on the peaceful celebration of the Eid-El-Kabir in the state. He said that under Yuguda’s stewardship, the state had witnessed ``tremendous achievements in all the sectors of the economy.''

 

He appealed to the governor to pay attention to the development of healthcare delivery, education and agriculture in order to transform the economy of the state.