The Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State has introduced a welfare package aimed at attracting medical professionals serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), offering doctors a monthly allowance of ₦150,000 and free accommodation.
The Chairman of the council, Dr Nicholas Kemi Nshe, announced the initiative during a two-day free medical outreach organised in partnership with the NYSC Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) programme in Shendam.
Under the arrangement, NYSC doctors posted to the local government will receive the monthly allowance throughout their one-year service, while nurses, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists and other health workers will get ₦70,000 monthly.
Nshe said the incentive was introduced to address the shortage of healthcare workers in rural communities and encourage more qualified personnel to serve in Shendam.
He explained that the council was committed to ensuring residents have access to proper medical care despite challenges affecting healthcare delivery.
The chairman added that the free medical outreach attended to more than 600 residents, providing consultations, laboratory tests, medications and health education.
He also disclosed that his administration was renovating and constructing primary healthcare centres across various wards in the local government, while a modern medical laboratory was being built to improve diagnostic services.
The Plateau State Coordinator of the NYSC, Jonathan Iliya Yavala, said the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers programme was created to provide healthcare services to communities with limited access to medical facilities.
Yavala said over 400 residents had received medical attention during the outreach as of Saturday afternoon, with the number expected to rise before the exercise ended.
He noted that the medical team consisted of 11 professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and laboratory scientists, who treated conditions such as malaria, hepatitis B and C, hypertension and diabetes.
The Long Gamai of Shendam, His Royal Highness Martins Shaldas III, praised the council and the NYSC for bringing the healthcare intervention to the community, describing it as beneficial to residents who could not afford medical treatment.
Healthcare workers involved in the exercise also used the opportunity to educate residents on preventive health measures, including blood pressure checks, diabetes awareness, antenatal care and routine immunisation.
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