The Health Services Commission has said it is failing to recruit enough healthcare workers due to shortage of financial resources.
Chairperson for the commission Themba Nyirenda said this in Lilongwe Tuesday when members of the commission appeared before the Health Committee of Parliament.
According to Nyirenda, the vacancy rate in government healthcare service facilities now stands at 51 percent.
He disclosed that low funding has affected their operations in provision of quality healthcare services in the country.
“There is a high vacancy rate with poor absorption due to lack of financing and adequate remuneration. The population-to-health worker ration is at 2.85 per 1,000 population from the 4.45 target of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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“There are thousands of healthcare workers that are needed, to be recruited, but government needs a lot of funds to do so,” he said.
The commission has since recommended that the government should consider providing incentives to healthcare workers, including allowing them to import a motor vehicle duty-free every five years.
Furthermore, Nyirenda said the government should have the mandate to allow healthcare workers to be accessing mortgage guaranteed by the government at commercial banks.
Deputy Chairperson for the Health Committee of Parliament Eurita Ntiza Valeta expressed worry over the vacancy rate in government hospitals which, she said, is affecting healthcare service delivery.
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“The healthcare service system is not working in Malawi as we can see that most hospitals, especially government [ones], do not have adequate resources to manage services,” she said.
