The Kwara State government in collaboration with Management Sciences for Health (MSH) on Wednesday launched the health workforce registry in the state.

The registry was put in place to ensure for proper planning and rid the profession of ghost workers.

The Country Representative, Management sciences for Health, Nigeria, Dr. Zipporah Kpamor‎, said the application will help the ministry of health to know the staff that they have by category and their areas of specialisation. 

“The application will also help them to know the numbers and where they are posted. The commissioner, permanent secretary and director of planning of the ministry would be able to know all these information by a press of a button and that will help them to know where to post their staff so that they can meet the policy thrust of the federal ministry of health which is to make one functional PAC in every political ward and by being functional is to have the appropriate number of category of staff to be able to provide the minimum primary health care package.

“It will also help them to make decisions on recruitment, promotion, training and retirement so as not to fall short of staff when some of their workers retired ‎and help to know what kind of additional skills is needed so that they care provide quality health services. One additional advantage is that is will help in better planning and the issue of ghost workers won’t arise again because it will help the ministry to know how many of its staff have retired,” Kpamor said.

On the role of MSH in the registry, she disclosed that MSH help ministries of health to be able to get information at their finger tips to be able to improve health and safe lives in the communities adding that the launching was a call to action for other states of the federation as only 9 out of the 36 states in the country have keyed into the initiative since it inauguration ‎in 2013 by the federal government.

Also speaking the Kwara state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Sulaiman Atolagbe noted that the aim of the registry is to bring together profiles and status of different health workers in various health institutions as well as health training institutions and health professional bodies.

Atolagbe recalled that the state government had fulfilled the term of reference set for the technical working group after it was inaugurated last year at the ministry of health and assured that the government will support the promotion of the project and ensure her success through provision of required logistics to ensure the state maintains its leading position.

The scope of the registry according to the commissioner include health workers and database aimed at authenticating, validating and aggregating data for planning and management of human resources for health in the state.