The Ondo State Government, through its Primary Healthcare Development Agency, has delivered a strong ultimatum to health workers across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas: improve performance in key indicators or face replacement. The directive comes amid observations of lagging output within the sector.
Dr. Francis Akanbiemu, the Permanent Secretary of the agency, conveyed the stringent position on Sunday while addressing Primary Healthcare Directors from all 18 local government areas.
Akanbiemu specifically expressed dissatisfaction with the low performance recorded in some key health metrics, particularly in the area of immunization, and urged the personnel to drastically step up their responsibilities.
Dr. Akanbiemu stressed that given the financial backing provided by the current administration, there is no justification for substandard results. He emphasized that “Primary health workers have no excuse to perform below expectation, going by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration’s huge investment in the primary health sub-sector as evident in some key projects currently being executed by the agency and the approval for recruitment of more medical doctors and health workers to further enhance service delivery to the people.”
Following this justification, the Permanent Secretary delivered the clear mandate for the future: “Henceforth, the performance will determine their continued stay in office.”
Akanbiemu advised the PHC teams to immediately launch aggressive outreaches and robust sensitization programs to encourage mothers to bring their children in for immunization, reminding them that Ondo State is historically recognized for high performance in this domain. While demanding accountability, he noted that the agency is actively working on plans to address challenges faced by workers in rural and hard-to-reach areas to ensure quality healthcare services are available across all grassroots communities.
In parallel, Dr. Victor Adefesoye, the state Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, also called for renewed commitment from the local coordinators. Dr. Adefesoye encouraged the LG Coordinators of the agency to be more alive to their responsibilities by being more committed to ensuring that all health indicators in their various local government areas record 100 per cent success.
The stern warning follows the state government’s recent recruitment of 1,000 health professionals, all of whom have been deployed to various facilities. Akanbiemu concluded by appealing to all primary health workers to justify the government’s substantial investment in the sub-sector.
