NIGERIA’S healthcare sector remains deeply troubled, despite interventions by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The government must not only acknowledge the sector’s persistent challenges but also take bold, strategic steps to energise it.
Fresh media reports state that the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals is threatening a nationwide strike if the government fails to pay seven months of salary arrears resulting from the July 2024 pay rise. The union has decried delays in implementing the Consolidated Health Salary Structure adjustment for its members and other healthcare workers. This is deplorable.
Central to their demands is the government’s failure to honour a 2014 collective bargaining agreement with health professionals. While the administration adjusted the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for doctors in line with the agreement, it did not extend the same to other health professionals, the union said. This lack of parity is a lingering source of discontent.
It is unfortunate that past administrations signed agreements with the union but failed to implement them. Yet, government is a continuum. Therefore, it is now up to the Tinubu administration to intervene.
A strike would deprive Nigerians of access to vital health services. The government must address the problem by placing all health professionals on an equal and dignified pedestal.
Reneging on promises to labour groups deepens mistrust and instability in the sector.
Physiotherapists, radiographers, and other allied health professionals are integral to the health system and should not be relegated to second-class status compared to doctors and nurses.
The welfare of all health workers must be urgently prioritised to foster a sense of belonging and commitment. The government must ensure fairness and equity across all cadres of health professionals.
Medical professionals should avoid working in silos. A united front will strengthen their negotiating position and help prevent any group from being sidelined.
With the sustained exodus of health professionals, the government must provide motivation and incentives to retain critical expertise. Unfortunately, the sector is frequently disrupted by threats of strikes and actual industrial actions, often triggered by government neglect or broken promises.
In May, the National Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory staged a three-day warning strike following the dismissal of 127 health workers by the FCT Civil Service Commission. Earlier, they had observed a warning strike in January over unpaid salaries and allowances.
In April, the Akwa Ibom branch of the Nigerian Medical Association threatened a strike over the non-payment of medical lecturers at the University of Uyo, issuing a 21-day ultimatum to the university management.
The health sector remains in crisis, with hospitals being understaffed and under-equipped, primary healthcare centres patently dysfunctional, while patient care remains poor. Unlike Cuba, Nigeria falls far short of the WHO’s recommended 1:600 doctor-to-patient ratio.
With only 5.0 per cent of the national budget allocated to health, well below the African Union’s Abuja Declaration target of 15 per cent, poor health outcomes persist.
Nigerians continue to suffer from diseases like malaria, typhoid, meningitis, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, all of which drive high mortality and low life expectancy.
Nigeria’s life expectancy as of 2024 is estimated at 54.6 years, lower than the African average of 64.2 years and the global average of 75.3 years.
Meanwhile, the ruling elite seems cocooned from these harsh realities. With access to immense funding for medical tourism, they neglect public hospitals and the health workforce.
While N21 billion was spent on the Aso Rock clinic for the First Family, many general hospitals struggle with basic equipment and power supply.
To salvage the situation, the government must urgently upgrade public hospital facilities and revamp PHCs. Only with comprehensive reform and genuine commitment can Nigeria’s health sector be empowered to provide quality services.
