The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has ordered its members to stop taking call duty beyond 24 hours.

The directive was issued in a statement yesterday after the association’s Annual General Meeting and signed by the NARD President, Dr Mohammad Usman Suleiman; Secretary-General, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim; and Publicity Secretary, Dr Abdulmajeed Yahya Ibrahim.

NARD said 24-hour continuous call duty is a silent killer that has pushed many young doctors into burnout, medical errors, and even death.

According to the statement, Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio is among the worst in the world. While the World Health Organisation recommends one doctor to 600 patients, Nigeria has only about 11,000 resident doctors for over 240 million people, which gives a ratio of one to 9,083.

It added that resident doctors in Nigeria worked an average of 106 hours every week, while surgical residents put in over 122 hours. This means many of them spend four to five days weekly on call duty.

“To this end, the Annual General Meeting of NARD hereby directs that, with effect from October 1, 2025, all resident doctors across the country shall cease taking continuous calls beyond a 24-hour period.

There must be a call-free period after every call,” the statement directed.

The association also called on the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Health, to ease the workload on doctors by introducing a one-to-one replacement policy and by regulating call hours.

NARD stated that as Nigeria marked its 65th Independence Anniversary, the country must reflect on the sacrifices of doctors and act fast to stop further preventable deaths.