By Ama Obido

The Health Policy Research Group (HPRG) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) has called for increased government action to address health workers’ absenteeism in Primary Healthcare Centres across Enugu State.

The Coordinator of the group, Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, made the call during a “Stakeholders’ Policy Dialogue on Addressing Health Workers’ Absenteeism and Strengthening Accountability in PHC Facilities in Enugu, on Thursday.

The coordinator urged the government to strengthen accountability in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the dialogue brought together representatives of the Enugu State Ministry of Health, Primary Healthcare Agency, National Health Insurance Authority, community stakeholders and the media.

Onwujekwe said the dialogue was organised to present research findings and engage policymakers and other stakeholders on practical measures to reduce absenteeism among healthcare workers.

According to him, the research identified transportation challenges, inadequate workplace support and limited community involvement as some of the issues contributing to absenteeism in primary healthcare facilities.

He explained that the group, after extensive consultations with stakeholders, prioritised three interventions capable of improving health workers’ attendance and service delivery.

“One of the findings is that providing transportation support to health workers, especially those serving in remote communities, will encourage them to report to work regularly.

“We also discovered that providing support systems within health facilities, where colleagues support one another, can improve attendance.

“Community involvement is equally important because when communities participate in monitoring healthcare services, it helps to strengthen accountability,” he said.

The Coordinator said the research demonstrated that combining the three interventions could significantly reduce absenteeism and improve healthcare delivery.

He explained that the essence of the policy dialogue was to translate research evidence into practical government policies and programmes.

“We have conducted a study and generated evidence. What we are doing today is bringing stakeholders together to discuss how this evidence can be translated into policies and practice.

“We are talking about evidence-based policymaking, where decisions are guided by research findings rather than assumptions.

“Our expectation is that government and other policymakers will take renewed action to ensure that these interventions are implemented across the state,” he said.

The coordinator expressed optimism that implementing the recommendations would ensure that residents seeking medical attention at primary healthcare facilities would meet health workers on duty.

“Our research is complementary to the efforts of the state government because we want to ensure that the health centres being constructed are not left without health workers.

“We expect the government to utilise this evidence to strengthen its interventions against absenteeism,” he said.

He acknowledged the state government’s introduction of a clock-in system to monitor health workers’ attendance, describing it as a recognition of the challenges posed by absenteeism.

According to him, addressing the problem requires multiple strategies beyond attendance monitoring.

Presenting the research findings, a research associate, Dr Pamela Ogbozor, said the intervention ran from August 2025 to January 2026 in four primary healthcare facilities of Nsukka and Igbo-Etiti in Enugu North and Nkanu West.

According to her eight other facilities served as control locations, where the researchers did not introduce the interventions.

Ogbozor, a research associate of HPRG, said 100 per cent of health workers in intervention facilities regularly completed attendance registers, compared with 90 per cent in control facilities.

She said the study also recorded that 15.4 per cent of workers in intervention facilities left before their shifts ended, compared with 48 per cent in control facilities.

She listed types of absenteeism to include workers failing to report for duty, arriving late or leaving before the end of their shifts.

The researcher warned that absenteeism could expose patients to complications, death and workload with few on duty.

Mr Stephen Obi, representing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), described absenteeism and ghost workers as serious challenges.
“Absenteeism and ghost workers go together and to the commission, it is a serious challenge,” he said.

Obi said the dialogue had provided valuable information which he would take back to the commission.

Mr Alex Ugwu, a Ward Development Committee Chairman, Hilltop Health Centre, Ngwo, welcomed the intervention, saying it would help identify gaps and improve service delivery.

NAN also reports that HPRG is partnering with the SOAS Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) research consortium, United Kingdom, to investigate and reduce corruption within health and public service delivery. (NAN)

Edited by Maureen Atuonwu