The Oyo State Community and Social Development Agency (OYCSDA) has called on major stakeholders in community development to support its drive to give basic healthcare services to the people in communities in the State.
This was contained in the speech of the Executive Chairman of the agency, Hon. Abideen Tokunbo Adeaga while hosting representatives of communities, where OYCSDA has constructed community health centers, on Wednesday in Ibadan.
The meeting which had in attendance, the General Manager of OYCSDA, Mr. Salawu Jelili and his management team, representative of Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. O. R Omotajo, traditional rulers from the communities and technical experts, focused on ways by which the health facilities would be staffed for optimal usage.
Adeaga said the shortage of health workers in Oyo State and Nigeria as a whole, necessitated alternative ways by which staffing of the community health centers could be achieved.
He called on the communities to support the initiative by getting retired medical personnel from the areas to work in the facilities and collect some incentives from dedicated purse of the communities.
“This is the only way to beat the crisis of lack of dearth of health workers, we must engage our uncles and aunts that are already retired to provide community service in this form and get paid some incentives from the community purse,” Hon. Tokunbo stated.
In his words, the representative of Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. O. R Omotajo said the personnel sought to man the health facilities should be qualified and experienced, so as to avoid creating medical crisis in the communities.
The community representatives appreciated Oyo State government and OYCSDA for providing succor in the form of health facilities in their domains, as requested by the communities.
They promised to fulfil their own side of the bargain by scouting for qualified healthcare workers and support staff members, in order to make the facilities functional.