By YOMI AYELESO, Ado-Ekiti

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Ekiti State branch has threatened to embark on strike in solidarity with the ongoing industrial action by resident doctors at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) over the government’s poor investment in health care delivery in the state.

The medical practitioners who expressed unalloyed support for the four-week-old strike by the EKSUTH resident doctors lamented that the poor funding of the state’s health sector has resulted in brain drain and lack of infrastructure that would enhance quality healthcare delivery for the people.

The NMA stated this in a communiqué released at the end of their 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) with the theme, ’Health care financing at the subnational level: Exploring feasible innovative opportunities’ and subthemes ‘Universal health coverage for Ekiti Citizens: Health Insurance Scheme a catalyst, and Ekiti State Health Insurance Scheme (SHIS): The Journey So Far.

In the communiqué signed by NMA State Chairman, Dr Kayode Ariyibi and Assistant Secretary 1, Dr Chibueze Alwell, the doctors urged the Ekiti state government, ” to continually increase health care funding in the State from the present eight per cent to a value that will be satisfactory.”

The doctors, who expressed sadness that health insurance, which they described as one of the most viable ways to achieve Universal Health Coverage for Ekiti residents, had limited coverage at present in the state.

The doctors, who lamented “the shortage of Doctors and other healthcare workers at the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare levels due to brain drain,” urged the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (PHCDA) to, as a matter of urgency, allow Doctors “to do their normal work as it obtains in other states of the Federation.”

They also bemoaned, “the payment of a percentage of full salaries and non-payment of COVID–19 allowance to their members in National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) and Association of Medical Officers of Health of Nigeria (AMOHN).”

They also observed the state government’s “persisting inability to pay full salaries, emoluments and COVID-19 allowance to our members (ARD & MDCAN) in EKSUTH, despite the regular hard works being offered to the populace by the members”

NMA advised the state government to “fast-track the payment of full salaries, emoluments and COVID-19 allowances to all our members in EKSUTH and NAGGMDP/AMOHN, in addition to a demand for tax waiver for three months during the COVID-19 pandemic since the State has not paid any inducement to encourage the Doctors and other healthcare workers.”

The NMA, while assuring of its readiness to deliver better and qualitative healthcare to all residents of the state, hinted of a plan to convoke the State’s first Health Summit in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, saying, “ this will help to resolve a lot of problems in the Health Sector and fashion the ways out.” (Nigerian Tribune)

Update news