The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) stated on Monday that the current strike action by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is not in the country’s interest, emphasising that the disruption in social services has exacerbated the economic hardship faced by Nigerians.

State Chairman of the NMA in Enugu State, Dr. Sunny Okafor, who stated this while addressing a world press conference as part of activities to mark the 2025 Physicians’ Week in Enugu State, explained that the federal government must rise to protect the health sector by encouraging the remaining health professionals in the country.Okafor, who added that the Enugu State chapter of the Association was fully behind the strike, insisted that it pertained to the remuneration and welfare of the doctors, as well as their input towards improving the health of Nigerians for enhanced productivity.

“We must say that for those of us who are still around, it is out of shared patriotism. If we had to pursue the naira, kobo, and dollars, all of us would have left the shores of this country. Now, regarding our patriotism, it is indeed a wake-up call for the government to see how it can reciprocate to our patriotic members across the states of the federation.”Nigeria stands at the ratio of one doctor to over ten thousand patients.

That is very worrisome. It has placed a lot of burden on the practitioners, resulting in burnout syndrome for our Clinicians and of course, Clinicians are human beings, and when they are burned out, there will be dangers of clinical errors. So if you allow the Clinicians to go through the part of the burnout syndrome, you are also risking the lives of the patients.

Therefore, addressing the welfare of the doctors also goes a long way in addressing the health of the patients because that would make the Clinician happy and address his mental health”, he stated.

Okafor urged the federal and other state governments in the country to borrow a leaf from Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, whom he said had been deliberate in addressing the welfare and infrastructural needs of the health sector in Enugu State.

He stated that Resident doctors at the State University Teaching Hospital could not join the strike because they had nothing to worry about regarding their welfare, among other concerns.”We are very happy that the Enugu State governor, Peter Mbah, has taken the bull by the horns towards addressing the welfare issues of the doctors in the state.

Today we have one of the best motivated healthcare workforce in the country. Today, Enugu State has one of the best-paid healthcare workers in the country and we owe that gratitude to the Governor. He has also improved the healthcare infrastructure in Enugu State. We have complemented the state government by ensuring that all the Type 2 healthcare centres have free maternal scanning services.

We are also pleased that our secondary healthcare is not left behind.”We pray the governor continues to do more for our healthcare system. For all that he had done, the NMA has resolved to present him with an award as an ICON of transformative leadership”, he said.

He disclosed that part of the week would include a regional health summit where the various healthcare leaders in the southeast would come to speak about what they are doing or what they intend to do to help build a robust health system in the Southeast.