Health Minister Professor Roma Chilengi has assured health workers that the ministry will uphold transparent, merit-based recruitment processes while working with partners to expand employment opportunities in the health sector.
Professor Chilengi said President Hakainde Hichilema’s planned recruitment of 40,000 health workers would improve access to quality healthcare services while creating employment opportunities for trained health personnel.
He said the recruitment and equitable deployment of health workers would enhance access to skilled healthcare personnel in communities and help address the long-standing staffing gap in the health sector.
Meanwhile, Resident Doctors Association of Zambia president Dr Paul Chibwe has described the shortage of healthcare workers in the country as serious, noting that most health workers in hospitals were volunteers.
Dr Chibwe said the association welcomed the ministry’s commitment to merit-based recruitment, adding that the approach would promote fairness and transparency in the selection process.
He said the Auditor General’s report had revealed cases in which some healthcare workers were recruited despite not meeting the required qualifications.
“The health sector is very delicate. They can’t risk employing people based on factors other than their qualifications and the established criteria,” Dr Chibwe said.