The Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Taraba, Dr Nkanta Edet, has blamed the federal government for the ongoing strike by the National Association of Residents Doctors (NARD).
Edet, who faulted the government while speaking at the 2021 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference (AGM/SC) of the association in the state, expressed sadness with the way the government had continued to relegate members of the profession to the background.
He said that the Universal Health Coverage(UHC) was not about resident doctors but involved relevant stakeholders, including politicians, administrators, the community and all cadres of health workers.
The chairman also said that it had become necessary for the government to motivate doctors in the country to prevent further brain drain.
“Healthcare service delivery is always disrupted once there is industrial action,” he said, adding that “for the ongoing strike, the blame should be at the doorsteps of the government for not giving healthcare the necessary attention it deserves.
“It is regrettable that the government failed to honour the MoU reached with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) about three months ago, resulting in the resumption of a nationwide strike,” he said.
Edet siad that for the nation to achieve the UHC, the government needed to employ doctors as medical officers of health in the local government councils.
“The UHC is necessary for the less privileged to access quality health care and we must work towards achieving this,” he added.
He also encouraged senior medical practitioners to always mentor the younger doctors.
Urging the younger doctors to be diligent in their duties and offer selfless service to humanity, he said the AGM was an annual event for all doctors in the state to interact and come up with policies to enhance effective health care delivery.
The guest speaker, Dr Uchechukwu Rowland, a consultant dermatologist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, urged physicians to look out for skin rashes as COVID-19 had skin manifestations.
More than 500 persons benefited from the free medical outreach of the NMA in Mallum village while awards were given to deserving members and stakeholders in the society, among whom was the Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Alhaji Aminu Hassan Jauro. ##
