Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, has revealed that the Japa syndrome was greatly curtailed in the health sector in the state, due policies being implemented by the state government.
She also disclosed that the various policies have led to the overall improvement of the sector.
The commissioner stated these on Thursday, while addressing newsmen at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, during the Omituntun 2.0 Inter-Ministerial Briefing.
Dr Ajetunmobi noted that the policies have directly resulted in improved quality of lives for residents of the state, reduction in maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, under-5 mortality rates and upgrade of hundreds of health facilities and infrastructure.
She said the Oyo State government has been able to retain a good number of health professionals as a result of Governor Makinde’s foresight in improving the welfare packages of health workers and putting in place different measures to make the sector attractive to professionals.
That deliberate step taken by the governor, she said, has greatly helped the state to retain its medical professionals amid the growing challenges posed by the Japa syndrome.
She said: “We have about 260 medical doctors in the state. Initially, we had about 350 but because of the Japa syndrome and for the fact that some people are retiring, the state government has embarked on a massive recruitment to reduce the deficit.
“In the Primary Health Care (PHC) sector, we recruited about 3,933 health professionals and we made sure we have, at least, one medical officer in each of the local government areas.
“So, we have 33 new medical officers now. We also have some that are PHC coordinators; some of them are doctors as well, and they can go around overseeing what is going on.
“We could have had more, but because some of our people retired and some moved out.
“Let me also say that this number excludes the doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. I think we have close to 100 doctors there.
“Also, they have resident doctors and medical students that are helping in the work at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital.
“The Oyo State government has been trying with regards to funding, but you cannot prevent people from saying they want to go.
“Some will say they want to go for academic-related courses or Master degrees and they will just leave like that.
“So, what we have put in place is a mechanism for replacement. You go now, immediately you are replaced by someone who wants to work.
“Another thing that we have been able to do to curtail Japa syndrome is that some of our retired consultants or retired personnel that are agile and are still willing to work, we give them the opportunities to come in and work.
“They are the ones that will now say, okay, I’ll be coming two times a week or three times a week. That one is also ongoing.
“Another thing is the approval of allowances and we have done that. Those are some of the things we are doing to encourage our professionals to continue to stay.”
She noted that the Governor ‘Seyi Makinde administration has also improved the health sector by recruiting thousands of health professionals and improving their welfare to address medical brain drain.
She said other achievements included improved service delivery and training, enhanced referral linkages between primary, secondary and tertiary levels, statewide digital integration and proactive health workforce expansion.
She also listed elevated health access across the state, with the government renovating several other health facilities in the secondary and tertiary health sectors.
Ajetunmobi said the state also recorded other achievements, including the recruitment of 332 healthcare workers at secondary health facilities and increment of internship quotas, ongoing data analysis on cardiovascular risk for policy development, achievement of Pre-TAS success and initiated TAS for filariasis-free LGAs.
She also mentioned oxygen plant resuscitation and renovation of Accident & Emergency Unit of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital and accreditations for the colleges with increase in quota of students intake.
According to her, the state government also recorded successes with Omituntun Free Medical Mission, which has reached hundreds of thousands of residents and the enrolment of over 121,000 residents.
The beneficiaries, she said, included pensioners, public primary school pupils and persons living with disabilities into the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme.
