Shania Shayal Prasad 
While the Health Ministry confirms they have sufficient medical officers to work with, they are currently facing challenges in posting them in remote areas.
This has been highlighted by Head of Human Resources Joe Fuata while making submissions to the Public Accounts Committee on MoH’s 2019, 2020, and 2021 audited accounts.
Fuata reveals that the young generation of today is quite influential in terms of determining where they want to be posted.
He also states that while they post up vacant positions for rural communities, certain medical personnel’s will excuse themselves.
“But they will come up with different kinds of reasons, such as a sick mother or a sick father. Getting married is traditionally married. From a humanitarian point of view, sometimes it’s quite difficult even for the PS to make a decision whether to move the staff or to go on humanitarian grounds.”
The Permanent Secretary adds that usually the Ministry does consider humanitarian grounds, but this leads to remote areas being deprived of the opportunity to receive equal services.
“We are aware that for many of isolated settings are very difficult for us to staff because many of the graduates who are posted there refuse for or have other social issues which do not allow them to go to those isolated places.”
The Ministry reiterates the urgency to strengthen its process and policy for medical officer postings and transfers.
