Saving health sector from turmoil

The Nigerian public health sector is currently enveloped in a morass of mass actions by service providers, especially trade unions of doctors and nurses. This has become an embarrassing annual ritual due to the failure of Federal and State governments to comprehensively address the welfare concerns of the workers.

Caving to pressure from highly placed individuals, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, after a tension-soaked meeting last week, suspended its planned nationwide strike and instead issued a 21-day ultimatum for government to meet its demands, failing which the strike would be activated. Also, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, commenced a seven-day warning strike on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, over welfare issues.

The nurses withdrew their services following the expiration of a two-week ultimatum. They want government to improve their working conditions, give them better remuneration packages and hire more nurses to ease their workload. On the other hand, the doctors comprising the NMA and their National Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, counterparts, rejected a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between its official and government representatives.

They are peeved that the MoU did not go far enough towards the holistic implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, agenda. CONMESS involves such issues as salaries and allowances (housing, transport, medical, book and conference, call duty, overtime, professional and others). The purpose of CONMESS is to attract, motivate and retain qualified medical professionals in Nigeria’s health system.

Even before the review of the CONMESS on April 18, 2019, government had always dribbled the medical workers’ unions with the setting up of one panel or the other, seeking to buy time and wear down the resolve of striking workers. This is the same tactic they apply with respect to unions in the education sector.

As a result, the health sector has continued to reel from brain drain. Minister of Health, Mohammed Pate, confirmed that more than 16,000 doctors have abandoned Nigeria for greener pastures abroad since 2018. NANNM also revealed that between 2017 and 2022, no less than 57,000 of its members left for better opportunities overseas.

Unfortunately, rather than sit down and resolve this issue once and for all, our political leaders and top government officials have abandoned the shambles of our health sector. They dip their fingers into the public till to treat themselves and families abroad, even for minor ailments.

We cannot continue like this. Our leaders have betrayed the common citizens of Nigeria enough. We reiterate once again that the social sector – especially health and education – must be prioritised. That is where government must prove its relevance to the citizenry. The upgrade of institutional facilities and welfare of the service providers is a task that must be done!

Fix our health and education sectors now!

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