The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Health workers

  • Jigawa charges newly-recruited 450 health workers on ethical conducts

    The Jigawa State government has charged the 450 recently recruited health workers in the state to abide by the ethical conducts of the profession and civil service rules or face sack.

    The Executive Secretary, State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim, gave the warning while speaking at a one-week induction training organised for the newly recruited health workers.

    He said, the state government recruited the staff as part of its strategic move to address the huge gap of personnel that existed in its health sector and also provide accessible and qualitative basic health- care service to all people of the state.

    Dr. Ibrahim revealed that the induction training was aimed at informing the new staff? of what is required of them as quality health workers.

    “The government is directing you to dress well, behave well, treat and relate with our poor and rural patients with mercy and humanity, don’t harass or extort them.”

    He told them to fear God in discharging their responsibilities and warned that the government will not be hesitant in punishing or disengaging any staff found wanting in these regards.

    Ibrahim further revealed that recruitment of additional 90 junior health workers and senior cadre is under ?way. He reassured the people of the government’s determination to achieve universal basic health care.

    The State Director, Primary Health Care, Dr. Sambo, also revealed that the government will establish whistle-blowers desk, in addition to other mechanism for close and constant monitoring of the health workers conducts, to ensure best service delivery, rewards and punishment.

  • Health workers give Ag CEO pass mark

    THE Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) of Medical Laboratory Scientists Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Abuja branch, has passed a vote of confidence on the administration of the Acting Registrar/CEO, Mr Tosan Erhabor, who is a year old in office.

    According to the union, which comprises Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MWHUN) and the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), the peace in the Council since the inception of Erhabor’s administration is second to none since the Council wa inaugurated.

    A statement by the unions said: “The administration of Mr Erhabor has not only brought a new lease of life to the working environment, it has also brought to the Council the much-needed leadership that promotes staff motivation which has been lacking in this establishment. But this servant-leader believes that a motivated workforce brings out the best output.”

    The group described Erhabor as a seasoned professional and public servant with three qualities: passion for the profession and staff, energy, and courage to stand for what is morally right.

    They praised him for repositioning the Council and boosting its image, which they claimed was dented with the murder of the ertswhile helmsman Mrs O. F. Omotuyi  last year and the power tussle that followed the vacuum it created.

  • Nigeria ranked 7th among countries facing shortage of health workers

    Nigeria ranked 7th among countries facing shortage of health workers

    Nigeria is ranked 7th among 57 countries classified as facing a critical shortage of health workers, it was learnt Tuesday.

    According to the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole the country has a shortage of 144,000 health workers.  Nigeria is ranked second in Africa behind Ethiopia with 152,000.

    Presently, the country boasts of 240,000 nurses and midwives and by 2030 the country will be needing 149,852 doctors and 471,353 nurses and midwives.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the occasion marking the International Day of the Midwife 2017, with the theme, “strengthening midwifery preservice training in Nigeria “midwives, mothers and families: partners for life”

    The minister said only 99,120 doctors and 333,494 nurses and midwives will be available by 2030.

    He therefore warned that the shortfall will make the co try health system vulnerable if there is no urgent and concrete plan to address the situation.

    This the minister also linked to the high rate of maternal and child mortality in the country.

    The minister also decried the distribution of health workers in the country, which according to him was skewed in favour of urban areas, with more than 50 per cent of the health workers.

    He however assured Nigerians that the Midwives Service Scheme launched in 2009 will be modified to make it more effective, while at the same time ensure regular review of the curriculum of school of midwifery in the country.

    He said, “human resources for health issues in Nigeria contribute to poor population health in the country, alongside threats from terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and political corruption.

    Health inequities within Nigeria mirror the geographical disparities in human resources for health distribution and are worsened by the emigration of Nigerian nurses to developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Nigerian nurses are motivated to emigrate to work in healthier work environments, improve their economic prospects, and advance their careers.

    “In 2006 the World Health Organization’s World Health Report defined 57 countries facing a critical shortage of health workers—those with fewer than 2.3 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 population. Against that ratio, Nigeria reported a shortage of nearly 40,000 health workers. The new data may indicate that Nigeria’s shortage is closer to 144,000—over three times the amount reported in 2006. This would be the seventh highest shortage of the 57 crisis countries. In Africa, only Ethiopia reported a higher shortage of 152,000 health workers.

    “Until recently, records from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria indicated that there were around 240,000 qualified nurses and midwives within the country. Additionally, given limitations in available workforce data within the country, the council’s data on active registration remain the most reliable proxy for determining the combined number of qualified and available nurses and midwives in Nigeria, across both the public and private sectors.

    “According to a projection estimates from scientific modelling by Adebayo et al in 2016, Nigeria will need approximately 149,852 doctors and 471,353 nurses by the year 2030. With the available growth rate of Doctors/Nurses, by this same period only 99,120 doctors and 333,494 nurses will be available. This implies a shortage of about 50,120 doctors and 137,859 nurses. This translates to 33.45% gap in doctors’ supply and 29.25% gap in nurses’ supply. This shortfall will make the country health system vulnerable if there is no urgent and concrete plan to address the situation.

    “Apart from the shortage, health workers are poorly distributed and in favour of urban, southern, tertiary health care services delivery, and curative care. For some cadres of health workers more than 50% work in the South Western part of the country with the majority living in the commercial city of Lagos. Efforts have been made to make health workers available in the rural areas. About 60% of the states in Nigeria, provide rural incentives to health workers that volunteer to serve in the rural areas, while others make rural service a condition for some critical promotion. There is the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) that is mandatory for all new university and polytechnic graduates in Nigeria. The introduction of national service for freshly graduated midwives will address some of the shortages of human resource in the country.”
    Wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs. Toyin Saraki in her goodwill message said the I pittance of primary healthcare cannot be over emphasized.

    She said, “We cannot over emphasise the importance of Primary health care in the delivery of cost effective and high impact health outcomes for our mothers and their babies, including strengthening health and health-related systems. We know that an efficient and effective PHC systems is one that can cater to between 70-80% of the healthcare and health service needs of people, and as close to the people’s living and working locations. The move to ensure the revitalization and full functionality of PHCs across Nigeria, will also help cater to the professional needs of midwives especially in regions where mothers have been unable to access quality health care due to distance or an absence of skilled health workers.”

  • Ecologist wants law to ban butchers from exposing meat

    An ecologist, Mr Abdullahi Aremu, has called for legislation to ban butchers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from carrying meat with motorcycles or exposing meat in markets.

    Aremu, the Director-General, Advocacy for Environmental and Sanitation Integrity, an NGO, made the call on Tuesday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He described the wanton exposure of meat as “unhygienic and dangerous to human health.

    “Observation shows that many butchers, particularly in Abuja suburbs, have cultivated the attitude of exposing meat on streets and in markets.

    “The legislature at all levels should enact a law to ban this habit and punish butchers or meat sellers who expose meat on the roads and in markets,’’ he said.

    The ecologist said that exposure of meat often attracted flies, vectors of diseases, adding that the exposed meat was, therefore, unwholesome and not fit for human consumption.

    Aremu urged relevant authorities to deploy veterinary officers and health workers to abattoirs to ensure that the set standards for animal slaughtering and processing were strictly adhered to.

  • Protesting health workers demand minister’s sack

    Joint Health Sector Unions at  the Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki(FETHA), Ebonyi State yesterday demanded the sack of Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole.

    The unions, comprising Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and Senior Staff Association Of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes & Associated Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI) made the demand  when they protested what they termed “poor conditions of service”.

    The workers who marched on from the FETHA 2 complex to FETHA1 shut down   the hospital.

    Thier spokesperson and NUAHP Chairman Obiefuna Okeke accused the Federal Ministry of Health of insensitivity to their plight.

    He listed the “sins” of the ministry as non-payment of 2015 and 2016 promotion arrears to the unions, horizontal ‘stagnation promotion of workers, non-promotion of union members, non- release of 2016 junior to senior staff conversion results/payment of arrears, among others.

    He said: “Somebody is sitting on people’s entitlement. There comes a time when a man is pushed to the wall, he has just one option and that is to put up a fight and that is the stage we have found ourselves.

    “If the President sees our inscription calling for the sack of the health minister, he will not joke with it.

    “We did not write this under the influence of anyone, we meant every word we wrote.

    “The health sector is in crisis, despite various policies in the sector.

    “Nigeria came 187 out of 190 in the latest global health indices and this is worrisome and unacceptable.

    “The minister has failed the country and he should be sacked immediately.”

  • Health workers urged to intensify campaign against child malnutrition

    Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Health Service Commission Dr. Jemilade Longe has urged health workers and civil society groups to intensify their campaigns to improve child nutrition. This, he said, would aid the government’s effort in providing treatment and care for them.

    Longe spoke when the state Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PSN-PACFaH) Civil Society Partners visited him at the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital.

    According to him,  the government will continue to ensure that free health care for children and the elderly is sustained in primary health care centres in Lagos.

    He said that the rate of child mortality in Nigeria was worrisome, noting that effort to treat childhood killer- diseases, such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, routine immunisation, and others would not be effective if the children were not given the right nutritional food.

    Longe said: “Good balanced diet helps children recover easily from any illness. We need to provide this food hygienically, with appropriate frequency and in the right quantity.

    “We need to double our campaign to parents and care givers to give children good food.”

    He promised to evaluate the implementation of the 2016 Budget on health through relevant agencies.

    The government, he said, was still battling with the 15 per cent United Nations stipulated budget on health but “we have surpassed 10  per cent and we will ensure proper implementation of the budget so that we  will be able to evaluate ourselves and improve in area necessary”.

    Earlier, the Partnership Team Leader, Mrs. Vickie Uremma Njoku, said the visit was to place some requests to the state government based on some advocacy findings on the unacceptable high burden of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea and the health sector allocations.

    She said: “Lagos State with 10 per cent pneumonia and nine per cent diarrhoea prevalence rate among under-five years, is joint third disease-burdened Southwestern state in Nigeria. Thus for every 100 children death in Lagos State, pneumonia and diarrhoea jointly killed 19 of them. This is alarming and unacceptable.

    “We request that the Permanent Secretary should support the mainstreaming (prioritisation) of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea (just as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS) in Lagos State Health Services Commission Planning.” she said.

  • Health workers threaten strike

    Health workers threaten strike

    Health workers across the country have threatened an indefinite strike.

    This followed the expiration of a seven-day notice given on June 21 to the government to demand the implementation of the May 10, 2012 agreement between the workers and the Federal Ministry of Health.

    The workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Nigeria Union of Allied Healthcare Professionals (NUAHP), said they should not be blamed for any hardship or death that the strike might cause, having exhausted avenues within the ambit of the law.

    Among the demands of the workers was the need to release a circular to implement an agreement on adjusted salary of health professionals as done for Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) members since January 2014; payment of arrears on skipping of CONHESS 10 since 2010 in compliance with a court judgment;

    promotion of members from CONHESS 14 to 15 having spent over 15 years on the grade and designated the most senior one as Director/HOD;

    appointment of members as Chief Medical Directors of tertiary hospitals rather than skewing the position in favour of medical practitioners only and the

    abolition of the post of Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) since its creation is contrary to law.

    Addressing a news conference at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan yesterday, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Allied Healthcare Professionals (NUAHP), Dr. Ogbonna Chimela, said the government remained adamant despite efforts by the unions to avert the strike.

    He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the health sector, saying there was need to restructure the health sector to address the anomalies between the health workers and medical practitioners.

  • Court stops health workers from going on strike

    The National Industrial Court has stopped five health unions from proceeding on strike until the determination of the substantive motion before it.

    The court said it issued the order in the larger interest of the society.

    It ordered that status quo ante be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein.

    It however invoked Section 20 of the National Industrial Court Act, 2006 to encourage and facilitate amicable settlement of the dispute between the parties.

    The affected unions are National Health Workers Union; National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives; Senate Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals and Research Institutions and Associated Institutions; Nigerian Union of Pharmacists, Medical Technologists and Professions Allied to Medicine and Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.

    The President of the court, Justice B.A. Adejumo, handed down the order following an ex-parte application by the Honourable Minister of Health and the Federal Ministry of Health.

    It also asked the Minister and the Ministry and the five respondents to avoid any action that may lead to breakdown of law and order pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein.

    In his ruling, Justice Adejumo said: “I have gone through the processes filed accompanying the motion ex-parte.

    “I am not satisfied that there is any threat by the respondent to embark on an industrial action which may warrant the court to grant the ex-parte order of injunction bring sought by the appellant.

    “No proof to deduce the imminent danger to avert. No convincing averment upon which the court may base its balance of convenience. Considering all these, enough case has not been made warranting the court ordinarily granting the application as prayed.

    “However, since a Labour court should not only consider the issues between or amongst the parties before it alone and should consider the consequential effect of its pronouncement on larger society, I am inclined to making an order in the interest of the larger society which are the citizenry of this nation, which may pay dearly with their lives, probably if nothing is done to prevent the likelihood of loss of lives in the process.

    “It is in view of the above that I hereby order that status quo ante be maintained pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein.

    “It is therefore the order of this court that none of the parties to the motion on notice should embark on or carry out any act of industrial action, bait, strike, picketing or lock out pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

    “The 1st and 2nd applicants herein as well as the 1st to 5th defendants/respondents are hereby restrained from doing anything either by themselves, or through agents, privies, servants or any person or body whatsoever and howsoever that may lead to breakdown of law and order pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein.”

    The court advised the parties to explore amicable ways of resolving the arising trade disputes.

  • Minister locked out, as health workers protest

    Minister locked out, as health workers protest

    Activities at the Federal Ministry of Health headquarters was disrupted yesterday as workers in the ministry protested.

    Minister of Health Prof. Adewole Isaac was denied access into the premises while the protest lasted.

    Not even the intervention of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, was able to calm the nerves of  protesting workers who were calling for the redeployment of the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Amina Shamaki, over allegation of incompetence and high-handedness.

    Yesterday’s protest was the second against Dr. Shamaki who had to go into  hiding when the security around her could not stop the rampaging workers.

    The protest was led by Hassan Habba, who went though floors of the ministry with a  bell calling out workers.

  • Oshiomhole raises health workers’ pay by 5%

    Oshiomhole raises health workers’ pay by 5%

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has approved a per cent pay rise for the state’s health workers.

    The governor said the increment was for all health workers, including laboratory technicians, nurses and midwives.

    The government, earlier in the month, had raised doctors’ pay by five per cent.

    Oshiomhole announced the pay rise when he hosted members of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), who visited him at the Government House in Benin, the state capital.

    He said: “I asked you to come over because I know that two years ago, we had a wage review based on certain criteria which you preferred to call 90 per cent. But for me, that was what we were willing to pay and able to pay at that time. I did say that when he situation improved, we would look at it and make some further upward adjustment.

    “At that time, our main source of revenue, which is oil, was at about $60, $70 and $80 dollars per barrel. But today, it is hovering around $30 per barrel, but certainly under $40. Nobody knows what it is going to be next. However, I do recognise that for us to maintain our integrity in the eyes of our workers, when promises have been made in good faith, as much as possible, we should try to keep those promises.

    “It is no secret that Nigeria’s economy is in a crisis. We are burdened not only by low price of crude oil; we are also saddled with massive looting and diversion from public treasury at the federation level.

    “If you have been reading the news, as I have in the print and electronic media, it is now established that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) did not remit as much as N3.2 trillion to the Federation Account under Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Minister of Finance. These bare the issues we have been talking about.”