The Nigerian Society of Anaesthetists (NSA) has called on federal and state governments to urgently hire more anaesthetists and improve remuneration and welfare to retain the anaesthesia workforce.

In a statement jointly signed by the President of the association, Prof. Alhassan Datti Mohammed, and the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr Agwu Nnanna, to mark the 2026 World Anaesthesia Day, the organisation noted that Anaesthetists are the guardians of patient safety, adding that their mandate goes far beyond putting patients to sleep, but also ensuring that patients are fit for surgery before, keep them alive and pain-free during surgery, and ensure they recover safely beyond surgery in Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) or Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The association lamented that Nigeria still faces a critical shortage of physician anaesthetists, inadequate monitoring equipment in many centres, and poor public awareness of our role.

NSA called for adequate support to train and equip operating theatres and ICUs to meet minimum safety standards.

The statement read: “The Nigerian Society of Anaesthetists (NSA), the umbrella body for all Physician Anaesthetists in
Nigeria, joins the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) to celebrate World Anaesthesia Day. World Anaesthesia Day marks the birth of modern anaesthesia. While the world celebrates, NSA uses this day to underscore the critical, yet often unseen, role of anaesthetists in Nigeria’s healthcare system. We celebrate all our members who work tirelessly, often under difficult conditions, to keep Nigerians safe.”

The association expressed its commitment to continuous training, advocacy, and collaboration to reduce anaesthesia-related maternal and surgical mortality in the country.