From HASSAN JIRGI Maiduguri
Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum has approved a pay rise for medical doctors in the state civil service to match the one earned by those working with the federal government.
Governor Zulum announced the approval while delivering his address at the 65th National Council on Health meeting held at the University of Maiduguri.
The Health Council meeting hosted for the second time by Borno State had as theme: ‘Accelerating Pathway to Universal Health Coverage Strategies for 2030.’
The governor directed the head of service and the commissioner for health to liaise with the relevant federal government agency to bridge the gap in payment between medical doctors working for the state and those with the federal government.
He ordered that the pay rise be implemented from December 1.
“Link up with the relevant federal government agency and ensure that there is no disparity between salaries of federal government workers and those working with the state government.
“As of December 1, medical doctors working with Borno State government will receive the same salary as those working with the federal government,” the governor said.
He also stated that Borno had since complied with the Abuja Declaration, which requires every state to allocate at least 15 percent of its annual budget to health care.
“I am proud to share that Borno State has taken significant steps towards meeting the Abuja Declaration. In our recent budget, we prioritised health infrastructure, increased access to maternal and child health services and allocated resources for critical disease control programmes,” the governor reiterated.
Zulum also recalled that the state government had paid residency allowance amounting to over N300 million for doctors working with state hospitals and over N100 million to support indigenes of Borno working with other health facilities across the country.
In their separate remarks, the Minister of Health, Professor Mohammed Ali Pate and the Minister of State for Health, Iziaq Salako, stressed the need for collaborative efforts to achieve universal health coverage by 2023.
Pate also noted that President Bola Tinubu is committed to upgrading health infrastructure.
