Yaya-Kolade lamented that “the menace of medical quackery has gotten to an alarming and embarrassing level in the state.”

The commissioner, who spoke in Ado Ekiti while inaugurating Medical and Health Practices Regulation Taskforce, said the step “has become necessary to ensure efficient health system regulation and to sanitise the entire health sector structures, including the public and private practitioners and patent medicine dealers.”

The task force headed by Yaya-Kolade, has members drawn from medical related professional bodies and associations such as the Medical Consultant Association, Association of Government Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Nigeria Police Force and other relevant organisations.

Yaya-Kolade listed the terms of reference for the committee to include “promulgating and ensuring standard for health care service delivery across all spheres, as well as elimination of intra-professional medical health service quackery.”

The task force was also directed to facilitate implementation of sanctions when needed and perform scheduled and unscheduled health facility visitation.

Yaya-Kolade said, “The Taskforce shall be responsible for guaranteeing their members who apply for registration of premises and shall prescribe standard of practices for traditional birth attendants.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Folakemi Olomojobi, who expressed concern over loss of lives to unqualified and quack practitioners, especially the traditional birth attendants in the rural areas, said “the task force was inaugurated primarily to weed off quackery in the medical and health practices.

“The committee is to sanitise the health sector and ensure that no more live is lost to quackery and unprofessional medical practices in Ekiti State,” she said.