Government-owned health facilities across the 18 local government areas of Cross River State are facing a severe shortage of nurses and midwives, further straining an already challenged healthcare system marked by poor infrastructure and difficult working conditions.
The Chairperson of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Cross River State chapter, Josephine Ikpeme Bassey, disclosed the situation during a telephone interview held as part of the ongoing Nurses Week celebration observed from May 6 to May 12.
According to her, only 566 nurses are currently employed by the Cross River State Government, a figure that also includes lecturers across the state’s four Colleges of Nursing located in Calabar, Ogoja, Obudu, and Itigidi in Abi Local Government Area.
Findings revealed alarming shortages in several major government hospitals. General Hospital Calabar reportedly has 97 nurses, General Hospital Ogoja has 76, while General Hospital Obanliku operates with 22 nurses. General Hospital Ugep has 26 nurses, General Hospital Okpoma in Yala has 11, and General Hospital Ukem in Odukpani functions with only two nurses.
The situation is said to be more critical at the primary healthcare level. Data indicates that all Primary Health Care Centres in Calabar Municipality have a combined total of just 10 nurses, while facilities in Calabar South have only five. Obanliku reportedly has four nurses across its health centres, while Etung Local Government Area has no nurse or midwife at all.
The report noted that the World Health Organisation recommends that every primary healthcare facility should have at least one midwife alongside other nurses. However, Cross River’s 196 primary healthcare centres currently have only 99 nurses, leaving a shortfall of 97 personnel.
Mrs. Bassey said secondary healthcare facilities across the state urgently require at least 500 additional nurses, while primary healthcare centres need about 200 more health workers. She proposed the recruitment of at least 100 nurses annually to gradually close the manpower gap.
She also recalled that the association had requested the recruitment of 136 nurses two years ago, but only 57 eventually received appointment letters after more than a year of waiting. Some of those employed later moved to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital after new opportunities emerged there.
Beyond staffing shortages, the union leader lamented the poor state of health facilities and harsh working conditions faced by nurses across the state. She noted that many health centres lack adequate equipment and materials needed for effective healthcare delivery.
Mrs. Bassey further criticised the welfare package for nurses in the state, stating that Cross River nurses are still being paid under the Revised Salary Structure rather than the Consolidated Health Salary Structure implemented in several other states. She said former Governor Liyel Imoke approved only 70 percent implementation of the salary structure, leaving nurses underpaid by about 30 percent. Although Governor Bassey Otu later approved a 15 percent increase, implementation is yet to begin.
Despite the challenges, she said nurses in Cross River continue to work under difficult conditions while pursuing training and retraining programmes to improve service delivery. She appealed to the state government to urgently recruit more nurses and provide modern equipment, infrastructure, and medical supplies needed to strengthen healthcare delivery across the state.
The shortage of nurses and healthcare workers is not unique to Cross River alone. Similar concerns have been raised globally, with health experts warning that inadequate staffing, burnout, and poor welfare continue to affect healthcare delivery and patient outcomes in many regions.
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