Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has announced plans to conduct a comprehensive workforce audit in health facilities, citing concerns about the possible existence of ghost workers.
Kandodo Chiponda said despite the recruitment of more than 22,000 health workers across various cadres, staff shortages remained a persistent challenge.
She made the remarks in Mzuzu City on Friday after inaugurating the expansion and rehabilitation of Mzuzu Urban Community Hospital, along with 11 other hospitals in the Northern Region, under the Germany-funded Basic Health Services Project.
She said the ministry would also find other innovative ways of keeping track of its workforce.
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“We have done a lot of recruitment but each time we go to a facility, they will always say they do not have enough staff. So, what we are planning to do is that we will do an audit of all health facilities. We are doing this because, sometimes, people would appear to be under Mzuzu Central Hospital, get salary, and yet they have been seconded to another project.
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“We want to have a clear database of all workers; for example, how many people are working at Rumphi Hospital or Mzuzu Central Hospital? We do not want to have ghost workers,” she said.
Kandodo Chiponda also warned against resource wastage, noting that many facilities lacked effective maintenance systems for broken equipment.
On the issue of the €10 million Basic Health Services Project, she commended the German government for its support, saying most of the rehabilitated hospitals were in rural areas.
On her part, German Ambassador to Malawi Ute König said despite facing challenges such as the Covid pandemic and adverse weather conditions which affected timelines, the quality of work was impressive.
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König hoped that the facilities would strengthen the provision of primary health care in the targeted areas.
“We noted that the Northern Region was not receiving the same donor attention like the other regions but we know that basic health care is important for the development of any country. So, we decided to help the Malawi Government with money to upgrade these facilities,” König said.
Some of the health facilities that have received the boost are Bwengu, Kaweche, Kafukule, Luzi, Bolero, Katowo and Ifumbo.
