Stakeholders of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, Nasarawa State, have called for massive training of priests, religious, and lay faithful in various fields of healthcare to strengthen service delivery across its hospitals and clinics in the state.
The stakeholders made the call in Lafia during a one-day symposium organised as part of activities marking the Silver Jubilee of the creation of the diocese.
Speakers at the event, including priests and the Head of the Diocesan Health Commission, said the training drive was necessary to address manpower shortages and improve the quality of care in Catholic-owned health institutions across the state.
In his keynote address, Rev. Fr. Matthew Ofoku, Vicar General of the diocese, said healthcare had always been central to the Catholic Church’s mission of continuing Christ’s healing ministry.
“The Church not only preach, but it also heals. From the beginning, Catholic healthcare has been about restoring human dignity and healing the sick.
“To do this effectively today, we need more trained hands and more equipment in our hospitals and clinics,” Ofoku said.
He explained that at the creation of the diocese 25 years ago, it inherited Our Lady of Apostles, Ola Hospital, Gitata, and Agwatashi Health Centre.
The Vicar General noted that the diocese later established St. Bernard Health Centre, Akanga, to expand access to medical services in rural communities.
“These facilities serve thousands of patients yearly, many of them from low-income families.
“But the demand for services now far outweighs the number of trained personnel we have, that is why we are calling for massive, structured training of our priests, religious, and lay faithful in nursing, medical laboratory science, pharmacy, public health, and other allied health fields,” he added.
The Vicar General said a trained Catholic workforce would not only improve service delivery but also protect the ethical identity of Church-owned hospitals.
Also speaking, Esther Yonah, Head of the Diocesan Health Commission, noted that most Catholic health facilities in the diocese were grappling with a shortage of qualified personnel and inadequate equipment.
She said many facilities depended on a few overstretched staff, which affected efficiency and patient care.
“We cannot continue to run hospitals and clinics with skeleton staff. If we want to deliver quality, compassionate, and timely care, then we must invest in manpower.
“Training more of our own people will ensure our facilities reflect Catholic values of service to humanity,” She added.
The Head of the Diocesan Health Commission further highlighted the need to procure modern equipment that would enhance service delivery at the various catholic medical facilities in the state.
Also speaking, Most Rev. David Ajang, Bishop of the Diocese said the symposium formed part of events lined up to celebrate 25 years of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia.
The Bishop said the jubilee was being used to reflect on past achievements, evaluate the present and set new goals for the future.
He explained that the problems confronting the medical sector in the country as a result of brain drain among others, are also affecting the medical facilities of the church.
He promised to work assiduously to improve the situation for better healthcare service delivery for the benefit of members of the society especially the poor.b
Ajang said that the silver jubilee celebration coincided with the 5th Episcopal Anniversary of his ordination as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lafia and appreciated all the priests, and other members of their support to him thus far.
The Bishop called for more prayers for the transformation of the church as well as for God’s blessings and intervention on the problems bedevilling the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also report that the stakeholders at the symposium have appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to return the remaining mission schools that were seized during the former military regime back to the church. (NAN).
