According to the Association of Government Family Health Service Officers, there is a risk of collapse of maternal and child health services from next January.
Devika Kodithuvakku, the president of the association, said that the situation has arisen due to the retirement of officers who have reached the age of 60 at a time when there is an acute shortage of family health service officers.
Kodituvakku mentions that due to the increase in the number of female officers retiring from service on the 31st of this month compared to other years, they will have to face various issues in the future in providing child, infant and maternity services.
In addition to the family health workers who will turn 60 this year, the family health service officers who have completed the age of 61, 62, 63, 64 are also scheduled to retire on December 31.
Accordingly, Kodituvakku states that the retirement this year may have a negative effect on the work of the people who retire in one year in other years.
She says that there is a risk of collapse of the maternal and child health service due to that situation.
She further says that the government has not made any program to make new recruitments to replace the retiring family health officers and the Ministry of Health has no plan to prevent service breakdown if there is one
