Medical doctors in Nigeria, though currently on strike, have pledged
commitment to work with the Government in ensuring prevention of the
Ebola epidemic from spreading. During their congress at the
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Monday, they said that
their strike will not affect efforts to deter the rapid spread of the
deadly virus.
Speaking to a Saharareporters correspondent after the congress, Chairman of Lagos Chapter of the NMA, Dr. Tope Ojo stated that the doctors have aligned with a plan to
roll out public sensitization to prevent of the virus. "For
our enlightenment exercise, there are a lot of volunteer doctors on
ground now and we are still adding more,” he said.
Dr. Ojo said doctors have always responded swiftly to assuage issues
of natural disasters and medical emergencies. “As we speak, the NMA is
in collaboration with Emergency Response team. We are engaging the
UNICEF, WHO, Federal Government of Nigeria, Center for Disease Control
(US), Lagos State Government Ministry of Health and other stakeholders,"
he stated.
He also recalled recent incidents of deadly explosions in Kano and
Kaduna States; “NMA deployed doctors and also dedicated some hospitals
to to the victims,” he said.
Regarding the possibility of ending their strike, the doctor said the
Federal Government's disposition towards the contending issues is
unfavorable, and thus the strike may not end soon. He also debunked
claims by the Minister of Health, Prof. Chukwu, that the Federal
government had met the demands of NMA.
"You can imagine, for example, doctors' hazard allowance is just
N5,000, with our daily exposure to various hazards. If a doctor
contracts hepatitis or Ebola for instance, will N5,000 do anything?" he
asked.
"The ratio of a doctor to number of patients is worse [than]
international standard. Think also the issue of the reversal of
licenses, as you cannot have gynecologists doing IVF and you are saying
its only lab scientists [that] have the license to import their drugs”,
he said.
Dr. Ojo also criticizes the politicians who scramble abroad and know
the medical standards abroad, blind to what they left back at home.
"Striking is not a profession, we are medical doctors and we want
to practice our profession. We want to end the strike and return to
work," he added.
He had said in an earlier interview with SaharaTV that there's a
conspiracy created by the political class to compromise health of
Nigerian people, which he said their strike is made to resolve it.
The statement was made in the interview below.
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