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Tag: midwives

  • Nurses, midwives continue strike as meeting with health minister deadlocks

    Nurses, midwives continue strike as meeting with health minister deadlocks

    The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives–Federal Health Institutions Sector (NANNM-FHI) yesterday contradicted Health Minister Ali Pate who had announced the suspension of  the nationwide seven-day warning strike embarked upon by the union.

    The minister had met with representatives of the union to discuss their grievances.

    These included an upward review of shift and uniform allowances, creation of a distinct salary structure for nurses, review of core duty allowances, mass recruitment of nurses, and the establishment of a Department of Nursing Services in the Federal Ministry of Health.

    Pate told reporters at the end of the meeting that the association had agreed to suspend the action on the strength of their discussion.

     However, the association’s  National President, Rilwan Morakinyo, said the strike remains in force.

     “The strike is on, the association leadership shall be meeting to review offers before taking a decision,” he said.

     The National Public Relations Officer of NANNM, Omomo Tibiebi,  said the union’s National Executive Council would meet today  to assess the Federal Government’s response before deciding on the next steps.

     “The strike has not been suspended. Earlier today, the NANNM executives had a meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, and it was the minister that went to press to say the strike was called off.

    Read Also: Fed govt moves to stop health workers’ strike, withdraws circular

     “He (the Minister) wasn’t the one who called the strike in the first place, so he has no right to call off the strike. So, the strike is still on.

     “There will be a National Executive Council meeting by tomorrow (Saturday), and that’s when a decision will be made, and we will know if what the Federal Government has promised is good enough for us to suspend the strike,” he said.

     Hospitals across the country continue to bear the brunt of the strike, with reduced staffing, suspended services, and patients discharged due to inadequate care.

     Wards in Federal and State health institutions remained deserted yesterday, with skeletal operations ongoing in a few departments and full shutdowns reported in others.

  • Midwives across states to benefit from First Lady’s RHI 60,000 kits

    Midwives across states to benefit from First Lady’s RHI 60,000 kits

    • Japa: Kwara has 100 doctors

    The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) is set to distribute 60,000 kits to midwives across the country.

    The kits are meant to complement Federal Government’s ongoing retraining of 120,000 frontline health workers nationwide.

    Senator Tinubu, who is RHI’s National Chairman, announced this at the presentation of 10,000 professional kits to midwives in the Northcentral yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

    The states in the zone are: Niger, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kwara, Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Senator Tinubu explained that 54,346 health workers had completed their training.

    She said: “That is why RHI procured 60,000 kits as an incentive to encourage and support the tireless dedication of our midwives. All six geopolitical zones will be receiving 10,000 crocs and 10,000 scrubs to be shared among the states in each zone.

    “We will be visiting other zones as soon as possible for the allocation of these items. This donation has been made possible by the generous support of an anonymous donor partner committed to ensuring better health care.

    “The donor supports the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development and the health sector in Nigeria, particularly in the area of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity rate.”

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq hailed the RHI for impacting Nigerians in different areas.

    The governor lauded the First Lady’s initiative, saying: “It will have a lasting impact on the safety and confidence of our health professionals who are frontline workers in the fight for better healthcare delivery.

    Read Also: Health care: Sokoto recruits 845 nurses, midwives

    “These dedicated men and women deserve our full support. This gesture by the First Lady is a clear reflection of her commitment to our welfare and safety. The provision of these kits will not only ensure that our health workers are well equipped to perform their duties but send strong message of solidarity to those that are devoted in protecting the health of our mothers and children.”

    AbdulRazaq decried the menace of Japa syndrome on the healthcare delivery, especially in the state.

    He said: “The impact of brain drain on our health sector is huge. This is something at the subnational level we are finding ways to tackle. For example, in Kwara State in 2019, we had over 360 medical doctors, but today we have slightly over 100 doctors. This is due to brain drain.

    “Brain drain is not bad, because at the end of the day, those who go for greener pastures will bring money back to the country. But we need to train more young generation of doctors to serve the whole world.”

    Also, RHI’s Northcentral Zonal Coordinator and wife of Kwara State governor, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, noted that “this initiative, championed by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, exemplifies her commitment to the welfare and professionalism of midwives across our nation”.

    She added: “This generous support of providing 10,000 professional kits will undoubtedly empower midwives in the Northcentral with the motivation to deliver quality and compassionate care to mothers and new-borns.

    “I assure other RHI coordinators and I in the Northcentral zone will see to it that the distribution through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency is done accordingly.”

  • UCTH nurses, midwives begin indefinite strike

    UCTH nurses, midwives begin indefinite strike

    The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) yesterday began an indefinite strike.

    The association, which comprises nurses and midwives, is protesting the alleged non-payment of three years arrears of their uniform allowance, four years arrears of training allowance and other allowances, promotions and the general conditions of the hospital, among others.

    UCTH’s NANNM Chairman, Sylvester Ugor, told our reporter that the association started the strike, following what he called the futile attempts to make the management address its demands, especially the payment of uniform allowance.

    Members of the union, last week, gave the hospital management a seven-day ultimatum and, since Thursday, have been wearing mufti to work to protest the non-payment of their uniform allowance.

    Ugor, whose executive council took over in March, said several negotiations with the hospital management had failed to yield any result.

    The chairman said the association would continue the strike until the management settled the debts or made “reasonable commitment”.

    He urged the hospital management to do something about the situation.

    Ugor said: “Want we want is for our money to be paid and we will get back to work. Our job is to save lives, and we are not happy being at home. It is our calling to save lives. If they settle our issues or show reasonable commitment, we would go back to work with immediate effect.

    “When we assumed office in March, we presented 11 issues to the hospital’s management 5to address. It was during a courtesy visit. Surprisingly, nothing has been done. We have had several consultations and nothing happened.”

    Authorities of the UCTH refused to comment on the matter.

     

  • Midwives, highway sweepers protest non-payment of salaries

    Midwives, highway sweepers protest non-payment of salaries

    Scores of highway sweepers and midwives in Lagos State yesterday stormed the House of Assembly to protest the alleged non-payment of salary arrears.

    The protesters, in separate groups, lamented that life has been unbearable.

    The midwives claimed they were being owed more than a year’s salary; the sweepers alleged that they were owed between three and five months wages.

    A highway sweeper, Yemisi Oresanwo, said life had been difficult for her and her family since their transfer from Ministry of the Environment (MoE) to Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

    According to her, there are seven zones handling sweeping of highways in the state and each zone is owing salaries.

    It was gathered that the sweepers earn N12,000 monthly; their supervisors collect N20,000.

    They said they had complained to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, who promised to look into their demands.

    Oresanwo, a supervisor from Ikeja zone, said it had been difficult for them to survive, pointing out that they had complained to their bosses but nothing has been done.

    “Like for me as a supervisor, I’m being owed five months salaries. Others are being owed three or four months. So we want government to come to our aid.

    “Since the time we were transferred from MoE to LAWMA, the latter has been responsible for payment of our salaries until recently when they refused to pay us,” she said.

    Oresanwo added: “LAWMA has been paying their own workers but has neglected us”.

    The protesters said LAWMA management claimed that the said Ministry of the Environment is owing them; hence they cannot fulfil their obligation to the sweepers.

    Also speaking, Abidemi Najeem said they have been enduring the situation but could no longer do so as their children are expected to resume school soon.

    Najeem, who is representing Jibowu-Fadeyi zone, said they had been transferred since 2013 to LAWMA, adding: “We want the government to state categorically whether we are under LAWMA or MoE.”

    Najeem said: “Our children will soon resume school and we are expecting Ileya festival, how do they expect us to take care of ourselves and family members.”

    Speaking on behalf of Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), Beatrice Ajayi explained that they belong to an umbrella body for midwives in Nigeria.

    She said the Federal Government deployed them in Lagos State, adding that the former has been fulfilling its obligation, while the latter has done nothing.

    “This is not the first time we have protested, when we protested last year, they paid 2014 arrears but left 2013 unpaid. We find it difficult to go to work as we can’t afford the transport fares.

    “They have been promising us but we are tired of waiting. We borrow money to go to work,” she said.

    A lawmaker, Bisi Yusuff, who addressed the groups on behalf of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa appealed to them to remain calm.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, he said, does not owe salaries, promising that the matter would be addressed.

    Yusuff said the House would look into the matter when it resumes.

     

  • Midwives protest 35-month unpaid SURE-P allowances

    Midwives and community extension workers, under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Maternal Child Health Care (MCH) in Kaduna State yesterday protested the non-payment of their 35 months’ allowances by the state and local governments.

    The protesters said since they were engaged in 2012, they had not received any payment.

    Hajia Habiba Suleiman led the protesters to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Kaduna.

    She said the state and local governments had not paid the health workers, adding that they were only paid by the Federal Government.

    Hajia Suleiman said: “We were engaged by the federal, states and local government areas because our engagement letter stated that federal, state and local Governments are to pay us our allowances. When we started it was only the Federal government that was giving us allowances.

    “The state and local governments have not given us anything. This is the 35th month and the third year we have been working. We started working in September 2012.”

    The protesters urged Governor Nasir El-Rufai to intervene and pay the backlog of allowances.

    The health workers carried placards with various inscriptions: “Save! Save!! Save!!! Maternal and Child Mortality and Morbidity”; “We demand the payment of our arrears” and “We demand that all our outstanding allowances be paid.”

    The protesters also went to the Government House.

    They accused the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health for allegedly holding their allowances.

    The protesters said they sensed a foul play with the way the ministry was handling the matter.

    Hajia Suleiman said: “We were surprised when the ministry only agreed to pay us for 2014 and 2015 while we have been working since 2012. So, what happened to our two years’ arrears?”

  • Boost for midwives in Niger Delta

    Shell Petroleum Development of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture in collaboration with the governments of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Abia and Akwa Ibom states and New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) are set to turn around healthcare delivery system in the Niger Delta area.

    A statement by SPDC said healthcare delivery in six Niger Delta states would take an upswing with the training of 300 midwives that will support government’s effort in getting more skilled health workers to rural communities.

    It said the 18-month midwifery certification training, which commenced in 2014 aims to produce skilled and motivated change agents in the hinterland, where statistics show that 45% of women are delivered of their babies with the help of unskilled birth attendants, thereby increasing the risk of maternal and infant mortality in such areas.

    The initiative, it also noted, is sponsored by the Shell Petroleum Development of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture in collaboration with the governments of Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo, Abia and Akwa Ibom states and New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD).

    SPDC’s acting Regional Community Health Manager, Dr. Akinwumi Fajola, said at a cheque presentation ceremony in Port Harcourt, “This is a unique intervention that invests not only in the individual beneficiaries but also in the people hoping to benefit from their newly acquired skills. The training is in line with SPDC’s commitment to improving healthcare in rural areas and will make the much-needed difference in hard-to-reach locations in the Delta.”

    SPDC’s acting Head of Department, Partnership and Collaboration, Dr. Dennis Oyakhire, commended the state ministries of health for their commitment to the success of the partnership.

    He said: “In 2014, the beneficiaries received the first instalment of the scholarship fund and today we are happy to be presenting the second (and final) cheques to them. We are all looking forward to enjoying the benefits of this initiative.”

    The Director of Nursing Services, Abia State Ministry of Health, Pastor Ekeagba Promise, thanked SPDC for training the midwives.

    As part of the programme, the 300 trainees are studying in accredited state schools of midwifery and also sent on clinical attachments in community hospitals, all with a view to preparing them for the final qualifying examination of the Nigerian Nursing and Midwifery Council.

    SPDC said it has provided them with modern laptops to facilitate research and documentation.

    Faith Emerho, one of the beneficiaries from the Delta State School of Nursing, Sapele, said: “I was struggling through school; combining school with work until SPDC provided finances that enabled me resume my studies. I promise to be an agent of change in my community.”

    Faith and the other midwives are expected to graduate this year and return to their communities to provide professional medical care.

  • SURE-P midwives protest non-payment of salaries

    Midwives employed under the Federal Government Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) yesterday protested to the Lagos State House of Assembly over alleged non-payment of their salaries and other incentives.

    In a letter submitted at the speaker’s office, the midwives said: “There was a memorandum of understanding between the Federal Government and the host-state that salaries and other incentives will be paid to SURE-P workers posted to the host-state.

    They said since they started working about three years ago, they have not been paid nor provided accommodation.

    In the letter signed by Funmi Gasallo, they said they had petitioned Governor Babatunde Fashola which prompted the state to pay some workers for 2012 and 2013.

    “In fact some of our members have not received any payment at all. We urge the state to intervene before the current administration hands over. The SURE-P workers have ensured an effective and efficient health delivery system in Lagos State,” the letter added.

  • UCH launches nurses’ magazine

    The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan chapter, has launched the maiden edition of its magazine, Nurse Connect.

    The magazine, which is a first, was launched yesterday at Prof. Ogunlesi Multipurpose Hall, UCH, Ibadan.

    The theme of the launch is:” Crises Free Society, the Role of Nurses in the Millennium”.

    The Chairman, UCH NANNM, Mr. Adeyemi Oladele, said the aim of establishing and publishing Nurse Connect was to provide a platform for interactive and educative medium for modern training, research and services to members.

  • Rotary holds works for nurses, midwives

    The Maternal and Child Health Committee of the Rotary Club of Trans-Ekulu in Enugu Urban, has held a one-day sensitisation and review workshop for selected nurses and midwives from the five hospitals that received medical equipment and consumables from the club.

    The workshop which held at Ofuobi Africa Centre, Independent Layut Enugu Friday last week, attracted distinguished personalities. They include former Head of Service and Secretary to the State Government, Chief Clement Okwor who is also one of the contact persons for the project. Others are the medical consultant to the project, Dr. George Ugwu, a consultant gynaecologist from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, the outgoing president of Rotary Club of Trans-Ekulu, Dr. Johnny Egbonu, The Chairman of the Maternal and Child Health Committee of the Club, chief Eric Igweshi, among others.

    In his opening remark, Chief Igweshi said that the review meeting was to look at the issues that millitate against safe delivery and how they are being handled in those hospitals and to situate. It will help them find out if the reason why some medical equipments were donated to those hospitals  by his committee in collaboration with some clubs in Germany and Austria is justified.

    In his words, “we want to X-ray all efforts being made in your hospitals to ensure safe delivery. We want to see how all transactions that lead to maternal and child health mortality are being handled in your hospitals, how issues like human, environmental, structural, equipment, drugs  and other factors contribute to ineffective or effective handling of safe delivery.”

    According to him, “we invited nurses and midwives and other supporting staff from the five hospitals we selected as a pilot project, to brainstorm with the medical consultant and other project officers on how the equipment we supplied are being utilised and to also know other areas we can be of help”. He pointed out that indications are that the purpose of donating those equipment has been met.

    In his lecture, the medical consultant Dr. George Ugwu, declared that issues concerning maternal and child health is very sensitive and must be handled with utmost care by the medical personnel concerned as any negligence could prove fatal.

    According to him, the issue of monitoring pregnant women from the point of booking in for anti-natal to delivery is very important. “The issue of monitoring is very important from the day the woman booked in to delivery as any negligence could cause the dead of the mother or the child or both”, he warned.

    He said that for adequate attention to the given to maternal and child health issues, few critical points must be noted. “Doctors and other medical personnel must live near the hospitals, there should be adequate monitoring of the woman, there must be timely refferal before the case gets bad, awareness must be created for mothers to understand their roles for safe delivery, hospitals or health centres must be well equipped and personnel to handle such equipment must be properly trained”, he said pointing out that if there is need for CS, doctors should not waste time in recommending for that as “a few delay could be fatal”.

  • 1, 200 midwives get USAID scholarship

    About 1,200 midwives from the six geo-political zones of the country have benefitted from the USAID midwives scheme.

    The scheme, organised in partnership with a non-governmental organisation, Capacity Plus, was aimed at improving the knowledge of midwives as well as addressing maternal and child-mortality in the country.

    Speaking at an award ceremony in Abuja, the Chief of Party, Capacity Plus, Samuel Ngobua said the scholarship will also extend to prospective individuals who choose to pursue the career.

    He disclosed plans to procure direct institutional support for 11 additional health training institutions drawn from the current six priority states.

    The overall goal of ‘Capacity Plus’ work  in Nigeria is to increase the availability of health workers to meet the priority health needs of underserved populations through sustainable Human Resources for Health (HRH) interventions.

    This, he said, is in line with the US’ President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization and US Government congressional mandate of adding 140,000 new health workers globally by 2014 to the existing pool of health workers in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    The project activities are aligned with the nation’s 2010 – 2015 National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) and in strong collaboration with the Nigerian

    Deputy Director, Health Systems Strengthening and Innovation, Capacity Plus; Washington, Mr. Malik Jaffer, representatives from WHO, USAID, and the scholarship recipients were in attendance.

    Ngobua said: “This 2013/2014 aw ard is built on the success of the 2012/2013 exercise in which 1200 students of Midwifery from the 54 schools of Midwifery nationwide and from 30 states of the Federation and Abuja are expected to benefit from the exercise.”

    He stated that the problem of training midwives up to professional level and then losing them to other countries has been one of the challenges faced.

    Midwives in the country travel abroad to work once they have completed their training in this country and this is a waste, he says.

    ”We are also working in collaboration with the family health department of the federal ministry of Health recently concluded two Training of Trainers (TOTs) on Life Saving Skills (LSS for Midwives) and Modified Life Saving Skills in Makurdi and Ibadan in which 44 staff from the 11 health training institutions were trained,” Ngobua added.

    According to him, the rationale behind this was to strengthen the teaching capacity of the benefitting staff to enhance performance of the students in their final examinations.