By Onwa Ekor
As interviews for the second cohort of the National Health Fellows Programme (NHFP) commence across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, officials conducting the exercise in Cross River have been charged to ensure fairness, transparency and merit in the selection process.
The charge was given by the Cross River Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, Monday, at the opening session of the interviews held at the Conference Room of the State Ministry of Health in Calabar.
Ayuk explained that the selection process is not aimed at recruiting experts but at identifying candidates with strong potential for growth and service.
According to him, the assessors are expected to evaluate the candidates’ capacity, teachability, patience and willingness to learn, rather than their current level of expertise.
“Though we are not expecting the candidates to be experts, what is important is their potentials: their capacity to grow, their attitude to learning, and their readiness to be mentored if eventually engaged,” he said.
The Commissioner further noted that successful candidates are expected to support Primary Health Care (PHC) activities, particularly in coordination and reporting, as PHC facilities carry out immunisation, family planning, minor treatments, health education and health promotion.
He also spoke on the employment prospects attached to the programme, disclosing that the Federal Government had earlier announced an employment window for fellows in the first batch after the completion of their one-year fellowship.
“We were told that there would be automatic employment after the one-year term. We are awaiting clarity on the modality, whether employment will be at the federal, state or local government level,” Ayuk said, adding that the development would be highly appreciated when fully implemented.
He also commended the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other development partners for their sustained support and consistent capacity-building efforts within the health sector.
In her remarks, the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAP) Desk Officer at the Cross River Ministry of Health, Mrs. Edith Silas, praised the performance of the first batch of Health Fellows in the state and described the ongoing selection process as transparent and commendable.
“This is the first time I am seeing leadership take transparency to this level. The old system of influence or ‘who knows who’ has no place in this process,” she stated.
In Cross River, each of the 18 local government areas have about three candidates, out of which only one will be selected per council after the interviews.
The National Health Fellows Programme is a presidential initiative designed to groom a new generation of leaders for Nigeria’s health sector by equipping young professionals with hands-on leadership and management experience within PHC facilities across all 774 local government areas in the country.
The programme operates under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s Sector-Wide Approach (SWAP), in collaboration with state ministries of health and other health organizations.
