NARD President, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, stated this on Thursday. He said until the legislature makes a law restricting government officials from medical tourism, the much-desired improvement in the health sector in Nigeria will not be achieved.

The resident doctors all over the country embarked on strike on Thursday morning despite the Federal Government’s last-minute efforts to stop the action. Amongst other things, the doctors want their four-month salaries paid, as well as other allowances and demands, met.

When asked why the government has not been taking the challenges of Nigeria’s health sector seriously, the NARD president said, “It has not been taken seriously because they have the money to fly abroad. Let me be blunt, our number one person just flew abroad to do a medical check-up, going in search of the best global practices. If you check the amount of money that we put into medical tourism and put such money down in our hospitals here, you don’t need to travel. In most of the hospitals we have now, you barely can have good medical care because the basic necessities are more like luxuries and they are not available in the hospitals. So, why won’t they travel out? That is the question we must ask the government. If an embargo is placed on them from seeking healthcare outside, it will help in making the hospital services work inside. Until when that is done, we are going to achieve nothing. That was why during the Covid-19 pandemic last year, most of them who did not travel were able to go back into the health sector. I wish there can be laws making government officials stay in Nigeria and seek healthcare here. Until that is done, we won’t have improvement.”

The doctors have scheduled a nationwide strike to begin tomorrow, April 1.

The doctors listed four demands that must be met by the Federal Government to shelve their planned action.

NARD President Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi confirmed slated meetings with Labour and Employment Minister Dr. Chris Ngige and the Senate Committee on Health.

The conditions listed by the doctors are: full payment of salaries of all House Officers and Residents on the GIFMIS platform; upward review of hazard allowance from N5, 000 to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers and the immediate payment of 2019, balance of 2020 and 2021 Medical Residency Training Funds (MRTF).

The doctors also demanded the issuance of vouchers to the families and loved ones of doctors who lost their lives in service, especially those on the frontline of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases, according to The Nation.

Okhuaihesuyi said the listed conditions “are considered prime among other demands.”

Confirming the moves by stakeholders to avert the strike, he said: “I was called by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and we will have a meeting with him tomorrow (today) by 3pm. I was in a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Chairman Tanko Sununu on Monday. We will also have a meeting with the Senate Committee on Health Wednesday by 11am. We look forward to seeing them and we are hopeful that we can get some of our demands.”

The Labour and Employment minister also confirmed the meeting with NARD’s leadership at his ministry’s Conference Room.

Ngige said his team would hold a separate meeting with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria before the meeting with the NARD

This was the outcome of its Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting on Saturday at the Trauma Center of National Hospital Abuja.

The communique of the NEC attended by over 50 chapters of NARD was signed by its President, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi; Secretary-General, Dr Jerry Isogun; and Publicity/Social Secretary, Dr Dotun Osikoya, and obtained by journalists on Sunday.

The document reads “The NEC unanimously agreed that NARD should proceed on a total and indefinite strike on April 1 2021, by 8 am if the following demands are not met. Immediate Payment of all salaries owed to all house officers including March salaries (regardless of quota system) before the end of business on March 31 2021. Immediate payment of all salary arrears, including March salaries for our members in all Federal (GIFMIS platform) and State Tertiary Health Institutions across the country, especially ASUTH, IMSUTH and UNIMEDTH. Upward review of the current hazard allowance to 50% of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers and payment of the outstanding COVID – 19 inducement allowance especially in State owned-tertiary Institutions.”