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Barring any last minute intervention by the federal government, the members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) will embark on nationwide strike at the expiration of its 10-day ultimatum to the federal government and relevant agencies to meet their demands. The leadership of NARD had on September 1 warned of the impending strike after its Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held virtually. The bone of contention is the federal government’s failure to implement agreements reached with the association.
NARD lamented that many resident doctors have not received their 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF). They equally decried the non-payment of five months arrears arising from the 25 per cent and 35 per cent review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), in addition to outstanding arrears.
“The E-NEC expresses displeasure over the unjust downgrading of the membership certificates of the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), as well as the persistent non-issuance of membership certificates by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria,” it stated.
They also condemned the failure of Kaduna State government to honour its commitments to members under ARD Kaduna and Barau Dikko Teaching hospital, despite agreements and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). NARD also expressed dismay over the refusal of Oyo State government to address the challenges faced by members of ARD LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho, in spite of an ongoing industrial action in the hospital.
Some of their demands include the immediate payment of the outstanding 2025 MRTF to all eligible resident doctors and the settlement of the five months CONMESS arrears. The NARD leadership wants Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State to address the welfare issues of its resident doctors, especially those at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho.
The federal government should dialogue with NARD leadership with a view to shelving the looming nationwide indefinite strike. We say this because our fragile healthcare system will collapse if the resident doctors go on strike. Therefore, we call on Governor Makinde of Oyo State and other state governors with outstanding issues with NARD members to address those concerns forthwith. Instead of allowing resident doctors to go on strike before addressing their demands, we urge the Federal and state governments to be magnanimous enough and timely in attending to their grievances.
No doubt, the brain drain in the health sector is an issue the government has not sufficiently addressed despite several promises to address it. Government should stop reneging on agreements entered with resident doctors and indeed other health workers. The government should not allow the 10-day ultimatum to expire before commencing discussion with the leadership of NARD. If the looming strike takes place, it is going to lead to avoidable deaths. The disruption of medical services in some of the federal and state governments’ hospitals across the country will jeopardise our healthcare delivery system.
Since the health sector is inadequately funded, the government should intentionally increase the annual health budget to 20 per cent. Allocating a paltry five per cent to the health sector every year is grossly inadequate. Unfortunately, government is paying lip service to the sector in terms of funding and equipment. The brain drain in the health sector has weakened our entire health systems. Our doctors are poorly paid. They also work with obsolete equipment in some instances.
Due to the dearth of doctors in some states, the available ones are overworked. Not quite long ago, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, revealed that over 16,000 Nigerian doctors left the country in the last five to seven years in search of greener pastures abroad. The minister lamented that the exodus of doctors has created a doctor-to-population ratio of 3.9 to 10,000. This is regrettably far below the global minimum standard. Nigerian nurses are also leaving the country in droves to foreign countries in search of better condition of service.
For instance, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) said that over 42,000 Nigerian nurses migrated abroad from 2022 to 2024, with a significant number moving to the United Kingdom (UK). In 2023 alone, not less than 15,000 Nigerian nurses left the country. Apart from meeting the demands of resident doctors, let the government holistically address the challenges of the health sector.
