By Johnson Dike Abuja,
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) recently embarked on a strike due to their needs not been meant. The Minister of Health Dr Ehanire Osagie has pleaded with the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctor (NARD) to please call off the ongoing strike as it may lead to loss of lives in Nigeria as this is a trying time.
During the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, in Abuja, Ehanire guaranteed them that their various demands are being attended to.
He said “We held a meeting with the House Committee Chairman on Health. The National Association of Resident Doctors were also in attendance. At that meeting, they had not yet declared their position on the strike.
“But it was from the meeting that we were able to clarify many of the issues that they have been raising.
“I also did request that this is not the time to go on strike; not when we have a very difficult situation on our hands. I asked them to show enough empathy to know that we will continue to work on their demand and they should not down their tools because the lives that may be lost in that process are not replaceable.
“But we are very certain that the issues that were raised will be attended to, even though some of them are not very new and some of them date back to a few years ago. Some of them have nothing to do with COVID-19, but have to do with Residency Training Programs. They are all being attended to. There are series of demands and some of them are not current.”
“We have supplied all the personal protective equipment to states and to Teaching Hospitals and that one is off the table.
“The one for the welfare of the healthcare workers, including that for the frontline healthcare workers are being attended to. In fact, there is a meeting to which we are being invited tomorrow by the Honorable Minister of Labour and also members of the National Assembly in trying to make sure that these issues are attended to,” Ehanire added.