Dr. Babatunde Rosiji, Chairman of the NMA Ekiti State Branch, has highlighted the challenges faced by patients dealing with chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes, who are struggling to access a consistent supply of medications due to soaring costs.

He also noted that patients are hesitating to seek early medical care due to economic constraints.

Addressing a press conference in Ekiti to commemorate the 2023 Physicians’ Week, Rosiji urged the government to take immediate action to prevent an impending crisis.

He emphasized the need for health insurance to align with the current economic realities, as the current pricing of drugs in insurance schemes is increasingly unaffordable for many Nigerians.

Furthermore, Dr. Rosiji called upon the government to reconsider its decision to discontinue funding for the Medical and Dental Council starting next year, emphasizing the importance of maintaining support to avert potential disasters in the healthcare sector.

“The job of MDCN, which is regulation of medical and dental practice is so important that funding it by the government is appropriate. If we stop funding the MDCN, I wonder who will want to do it. Probably the doctors and dentists will take over funding a body that regulates and may punish them if necessary,” he said.

The NMA chairman, who said the brain drain in the sector hurt the health and families of doctors, expressed hope that “the community we serve will recognize this and appreciate the few hands remaining rather than antagonize and fight them.

“We as an association are exploring all peaceful avenues towards securing some economic reprieve for our beloved members. Despite the increased workload occasioned by the worsening brain drain, our members across all the hospitals have taken it upon themselves to provide clinical services that are rendered seamlessly.

“I must single out the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, for his dogged commitment and resolve towards making the health sector in Ekiti State work.

“While we have made a resolve to toe the path of advocacy and dialogue in the interest of Ekiti people, we have been equally blessed with a governor who has listening ears and who is accommodating of positive ideas,” Rosiji submitted.

This demand was a key resolution during the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NMA, held from August 27 to September 3 in Owerri, Imo State.

NMA’s National President, Uche Ojinmah, praised the Federal Government for the recent upward adjustment of members’ Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS). However, he emphasized that this agreement, signed on June 1, was concluded on May 25, predating the subsidy removal and subsequent inflationary pressures.

Among the association’s requests is a call for health professionals to maintain a cooperative stance, with the NMA’s present leadership dedicated to constructive engagement with the Federal Government for a more robust health sector.

Additionally, the NMA urged the Federal Government to activate emergency measures against flooding to protect Nigerian lives and to address security concerns to minimize the medical profession’s brain drain.

Furthermore, the demands encompassed a plea for the NMA in Cross River State to continue advocating for the release of their colleague, Professor Ekanem Ephraim, who was kidnapped over a month ago.

President Ojinmah lauded Nigerian doctors for their resilience and perseverance amidst the challenges facing the medical profession today. He encouraged NMA members to pursue peace and unity while advocating for improved working conditions.

The event was graced by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who served as the special guest of honor. Governor Uzodimma expressed gratitude to the NMA for choosing Imo State as the meeting’s venue and highlighted the achievements and future plans in the state’s health sector.

In an interview in his office, Dr Archibong said the huge disparity in salaries of doctors working in federal tertiary medical institutions as well as the lack of incentives have enticed doctors in the state employ to leave in droves.

Archibong said, “We are telling the government to make the salaries of state and federal doctors equal. That way, it will go a long way to stem the ugly tide.”

“The doctors need to be trained and retrained. They should be given commensurate salaries with their counterparts in federal service quickly so that the few remaining doctors left in the employ of the state will not be overworked.

Archibong also spoke on patients’ fatality as well as limited health facilities in the state.

He called for the establishment of a state teaching hospital in parts of the state, saying people take the risk of travelling upwards of eight hours to access tertiary medical institutions in Calabar.

“Cross River is very large. This distance is affecting patients, who sometimes die on their way to the tertiary hospitals in Calabar.

“When patients travel that far on a bad road as we have here, some even die en route to tertiary facilities, especially on referrals.

“So state teaching hospitals should be established in Ogoja and Ikom, to cater for patients from those distance districts.”

They contend that the UK can only define its wording to mean that the right to freedom of movement is a fundamental right.

The UK code of practice named Nigeria among 54 other countries where health workers should not be actively recruited, and the Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors responded by stating that this was not acceptable.

The UK explained that the 54 countries were those the World Health Organisation recognised as having most pressing health and care workforce-related challenges.

The UK code read in part, “Countries on the list should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, or contracting bodies unless there is a government-to-government agreement in place to allow managed recruitment undertaken strictly in compliance with the terms of that agreement.

“Countries on the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards list are graded red in the code. If a government-to-government agreement is put in place between a partner country, which restricts recruiting organisations to the terms of the agreement, the country is added to the amber list.”

Reacting to the restriction, the NMA President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, in an interview with The PUNCH said Nigerian doctors migrate to other countries because they are poorly treated by the government.

“I don’t actually begrudge the UK for recruiting Nigerian doctors because it’s the poor treatment they are getting from Nigeria that’s pushing them away. If the Nigerian government and people place a premium on Nigerians, they obviously won’t migrate.

“It is okay that the UK is placing us on the lower rungs for recruitment but what about the United States of America, Canada, Grenada, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, South Africa, Germany, etc?

“Nobody can take away the freedom of movement; it’s a fundamental right. They can only define the terms,” Ojinmah said.

Also, the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Emeka Orji, said doctors can go to other countries to practise the profession.

Orji said, “The truth is that it is not only the UK that Nigerian health workers go to and even with this list, it only means that they will not only be headhunting our health workers. So, that doesn’t mean people can’t apply to work in the UK.”

The NMA president also said the restriction might not be unconnected with the Federal Government’s move to curb the brain drain in the country.

“I know that last year, the MDCN Registrar went to the GMC and the report we got that time was that they discussed how to mitigate the effect of brain drain in Nigeria.

“This is purely speculative but we believe this was part of what was discussed. We can’t confirm that but it is possible,” Ojinmah added.

Some officials of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had, in October 2022, visited the General Medical Council Office in Manchester, UK.

The officials of the MDCN on the visit were its Chairman, Prof Abba Waziri; Registrar, Dr Tajudeen Sanusi, and the Head of Department, Registration, Dr Henry Okwukenye.

The General Medical Council is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom.

Parts of the tweet on MDCN’s Twitter handle @MDCNOfficial on the GMC’s visit read, “We had a lot of useful discussions amongst which is the possibility of the UK government to repatriate some funds in line with global health initiatives from Nigerian doctors who were trained with tax payers’ funds.

“Discussion around stemming the tide of brain drain also took place.”

The restriction by the UK comes amid a bill in the House of Representatives seeking to impose a five-year compulsory service on doctors as a condition to grant them full practice licence upon graduation.

The NARD’s President added that “It’s possible the Nigerian government pushed for this (the restriction) but we have not seen any official release to that effect.”

He called on the Federal Government to improve the working condition of health workers and fund the health sector in order to discourage migration.

He explained, “The government is now complaining that there is a brain drain but we have always known this and we have been talking about it. What is now expected is that government should increase the production capacity so that even when these foreign countries come for the doctors, nurses, and other health workers, you will turn it to an advantage, improve training, infrastructure, improve your personnel, and fund health, so that you will not be complaining to foreign countries to stop encroaching on your medical workforce. What you should be doing is encouraging it as long as you have enough. That is what India did.”

The professional body also said medical tests of the candidates would provide a comprehensive view of the state of the body system of those aspiring to hold political offices in the country.

There had been calls for medical screening of candidates to determine their state of health with many Nigerians arguing over the constitutionality or otherwise of such a move.

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), stoked the controversy in April when he asked political parties to include drug integrity tests as part of the screening processes for  candidates.

The NMA  President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, made this call while speaking to The PUNCH in Abuja on Tuesday.

Ojinmah listed the battery of tests that candidates should undergo to ascertain their state of health and fitness for office.

He said, “Simple medical check-ups such as chest X-ray, cardiac echocardiography, abdominal ultrasound scan, urinalysis, kidney function test, liver function test, blood pressure and blood glucose assessment will give one a comprehensive view of the state of the body system.

“Sadly, people applying for top level jobs like Chief Medical Director or Medical Director in our public service are made to undergo these tests while those contesting for executive and legislative posts don’t.’’

“We also want them to undergo psychiatric evaluation. These shall exhaustively evaluate the people vying for the ultimate job in Nigeria,” the NMA president added.

On how the tests should be done, Ojinmah said a professional body like the NMA could be charged with setting up an independent panel to carry out the medical and psychiatrist tests.

He said, “The NMA could be given the responsibility of choosing an independent panel of people who are well known in those different fields to carry out the tests because the problem is that if you allow a government agency like the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria or others, the government in power can influence it.

“So, we will prefer a professional body to be given the responsibility of setting up a panel of renowned specialists in the necessary areas to carry out a clear survey and present the report to the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

The NMA President noted that the medical and psychiatrist tests should be made public.

“If a mad man is about to be president, we should be told, that is just the truth. We see a lot of things going on with those in power, you will realise that there is imbalance. So, I think the results should be made public, we have a right to know.

“When they are going to vie for a Medical Director or Chief Medical Director of hospitals, they do most of these tests and those who will take the decision of choosing will see the results. So, people are going to be President and they don’t think that we should see their results? We are the ones to make that decision, we should see their results.”

Explaining, if any candidate who is not medically or mentally fit would be stopped from vying for any position, he said, “It is our position that if you have a mental problem or a neurological problem or you have any organ damaged that may not be treatable, or you are psychiatrically imbalanced, you should not be allowed to lead, you should be stopped. Will you make a mad man your traditional rulers? You will not.”

The NMA National Committee on Epidemics and Pandemics Awareness also called on governments to provide potable water to the affected communities as the bodies of water in these areas were heavily polluted and unfit for consumption.

The Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Hassan, and the Secretary, Dr. Enejo Joseph, disclosed this in Lokoja in a statement made available to journalists on Monday.

According to the statement, the provision of water purifiers as announced by the Federal Government is a step in the right direction and should be extended to all the affected communities.

Another measure that should be taken, according to the NMA, is the provision of habitable settlements with insecticide-treated bed nets.

The statement read in part, “This year’s flooding took the nation by storm. In terms of intensity, casualties and spread, it’s unprecedented, affecting almost thirty-four states of the federation. Scores of people were killed, properties worth billions were damaged, and, for the very first time in history, Nigerians witnessed coffins probably containing human remains exhumed from the place of burial by the ravaging flood floating around their places of habitation.

“The attention of the NMA under its President, Dr. Uche Rowland Ojinmah, has been drawn to the above ugly development and its implications for public health. The NMA, as an association with the interest of the health of Nigerians as a foremost priority, is disturbed by this disaster and what it portends for public health.

“It is against this backdrop we are calling on Government to maintain and indeed step up the existing programmes on immunisation. Awareness campaigns on personal hygiene such as hand washing, proper washing of utensils, and environmental sanitation should also be intensified.

“Although the Government is making efforts in providing potable water, victims should be advised to, where necessary, boil their water, allow it cool before drinking.

“This year’s flood disaster is unprecedented. It’s imperative that adequate measures are instituted to avert epidemics. The cost of prevention is far cheaper than that of managing any outbreak of epidemic. A stitch in time saves nine.”

President of the NMA, Dr Ojinmah Uche revealed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a policy dialogue on the country’s health sector brain drain and its implications for sustainable child and family health service delivery.

The event was organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in collaboration with the Partnership for Advancing Child and Family Health at Scale project of the development Research and Projects Centre.

At the event, Uche said: “So in eight years, USA produced and acquired (Brain drain) more doctors than Nigeria has produced from 1963-2021 (58 years).

“The real shocker comes when you note that what was reflected by the USA record were “actively licensed physicians” not just those registered to practice.

“At this juncture, I leave to your imagination the number of actively licensed physicians in Nigeria relative to those registered to practice as stated above.

“Available data places it around 24,000 giving a horrible true ratio of approximately 1:10,000. This ratio of 1:10,000 is a national average but in most states, the situation is palpably worse.”

The helmsman of the doctors’ association further said that the situation is worse in the northern part of the country where one doctor is available to treat 45,000, disclosing that in rural areas, people travel more than 30 kilometres before accessing a healthcare facility.

“Only one doctor is incredibly available to treat 30, 000 patients in some states in the south, while states in the North are as worse as one doctor to 45,000 patients.

“In some rural areas, patients have to travel more than 30 kilometres from their abodes to get medical attention where available thus making access to healthcare a rarity.

“Based on WHO established minimum threshold, a country needs a mix of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 Population to deliver essential maternal and child health services. This explains why Nigeria ranks as one of the countries with the worst maternal and child mortality rates,” Uche added.

The association also charged the governments and security agencies to do more in regard to the protection of lives and properties.

The NMA President, Dr Uche Ojinmah made this call on Sunday in a statement, hours after attackers killed scores of persons and injured many others at the St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area.

“The NMA hereby calls for quick intervention by our Governments and security agencies to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians in every part of this nation,” Ojinmah said in the statement.

“The Nigerian Medical Association commiserates with the Government and good people of Ondo State over the loss of lives and prays for the quick recovery of those injured.

“We appeal to Nigerians in the affected area of Ondo State to kindly go to the hospitals where the injured are being treated to donate blood to save lives.”

He also called on doctors in the state and environs to mobilise themselves to take part in the treatment of those injured following the incident.

While lamenting the rising levels of insecurity in Nigeria, the NMA said the government must go beyond rhetorics and secure the country.

“The recurrent shedding of innocent blood in our dear country has been going on for far too long and it is the position of the Nigerian Medical Association that explanations, condemnations, and reassurances are no longer comforting,” it said.

“The NMA hereby calls for quick intervention by our Governments and security agencies to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians in every part of this nation.”

“NMA also calls for the release in good health of those abducted,” the NMA added as the body condoled with the families of the victims, the people, and the government of Ondo State over the attack.

This direction follows the suspension of the resident doctors 9 weeks strike in the nation.

NARD’s President, Dr Dare Godiya Ishaya, made this announcement in Abuja on Monday while briefing reporters.

He explained that the association took the decision to suspend the industrial action due to a simple majority vote of members at a meeting held on Sunday.

Ishaya, however, stated that the strike has been suspended for six weeks to allow the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the doctors.

He said while most of the issues that led to the nationwide strike still remained unaddressed, the association decided to suspend the action for the period because of interventions from the President, the National Assembly, and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

Recall that the resident doctors had on April 1 began an indefinite strike over salary arrears and owed allowances by the federal government following the expiration of its ultimatum.

NMA chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, Enema Amodu, who spoke with journalist in Abuja apologized to the citizens for the strike action.

The chairman, however, insisted that the strike has to continue for the sake of doctors’ welfare in order to enable them meet the needs of patients.

He stated that if the doctors are not in the right frame of mind, this might hinder their efficiency in the course of discharging their duties.

Thereby urging Nigerians to be patient with them, stating that the citizens will get maximum care when the government meets their demands.

“Doctors are not insensitive; we hope that the government and those in charge of the discussion with NARD will take it seriously, with a view to settling the issues at stake.

“To our patients, we are very sorry that you have to suffer this epileptic irregular healthcare service delivery; we have taken an oath to take care of you.

“But if a doctor is not in a sound state of mind and is not happy with what he or she is getting from the job, the doctor may not be in the right frame of mind to discharge his or her duty right.

“By the time we get placed properly, remuneration and other welfare matters and facilities that we need to serve you, we will be able to serve you better with productive results,” Amodu said.