• It is a responsibility being shared not only by Ministry of Health but many other sectors.
• Traditional leaders, churches, districts and provinces are all participating in this recruitment.
• The employing agency still remains Cabinet office, and its them that are mandated to give any further updates regarding the progress.

Ministry of Health says it is not in a position to give an update on the recruitment of over 11, 200 health workers because the exercise has been decentralized into Provinces.
Speaking during a Media briefing, Ministry’s Permanent Secretary for Technical Services Professor Lackson Kasonka said it is important for citizens to understand that the recruitment exercise is not entirely being performed by Ministry of Health.
Professor Kasonka explained that once the application letters are received, they are taken to Provinces, districts and constituencies for selection purposes.
“We at the Centre as Ministry of Health have no voice, have no words to say, have no update to give until we get the feedback from where the recruitment exercise is happening. As you know it is a complex activity, that is a responsibility being shared not only by Ministry of Health but many other sectors including the traditional leaders, the churches, districts, provinces they are all participating in this recruitment.”
“The employing agency still remains Cabinet office, PSMD and its them that are mandated to give any further updates regarding the progress on the recruitment process once applications have been received,” Professor Kasonka stated.
He added that this therefore means that recruitment information cannot be given from Ministry of Health headquarters but from the collection centres where the activity has been taking place, hence the Ministry has no update to give the Public until it gets the feedback from the provincial centres.
“So we as Ministry of Health also remain keen and anxious as you are to get to understand where we are with the recruitment processes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Professor Kasonka disclosed that Mushindano district in North-western province has been responding to a measles outbreak, with a total of 18 cases and three suspected deaths as of 6 June 2022.
He said the measles outbreak in the district has been attributed to low vaccine uptake, adding that there is a vaccination campaign currently ongoing, with the coverage now at 63% of the targeted 16,010 targeted children aged between 6 months and 15 years.
“We are investing other cases with similar symptoms. In the last 24 hours, 5 new suspected cases affecting children between 7 and 12 years were reported. There is currently an ongoing vaccination campaign, with the coverage now at 63% of the targeted 16,010 targeted children aged between 6 months and 15 years.”
“This week, we have dispatched a technical team from the national and provincial level to support the district team in Mushindano with its prevention and control measures. The combined teams will seek to determine the magnitude of the outbreak, its epidemiology and understand the risk factors, including the barriers to vaccination,” he said.
And with regards to the Covid-19 situation in the country, Professor Kasonka revealed that there has been an increase in new Covid-19 cases for a second consecutive week, with 934 confirmed cases last week compared to 732 confirmed cases the previous week, representing a 28% increase.
He also noted that there was a slight increase in the overall national positivity for the week, from 5% to 6%, but fewer admissions standing at only 15 last week compared to 21 last week, with zero deaths.
Professor Kasonka further said the Ministry remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that at least 70% of the eligible population is vaccinated, stating that the national average vaccination rate now stands that 37%.
In the last 24 hours, the country detected 54 new cases out of 1,385 tests done representing a 4% positivity rate, with no new deaths for a ninth consecutive day and 105 discharges.