The protest, scheduled to start on Wednesday, adds to numerous challenges from President Bola Tinubu, who is leading efforts by the Economic Community of West African States to restore democracy in Niger, where there was a coup last week. State.
National mobilization has become necessary “to press our demands largely neglected by our ministry in the federal government,” wrote Dr. Innocent Orji, president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Physicians, in a letter dated 5 August to to the ministry of health and a copy of which was given to The Associated Press.
Resident physicians are university-qualified fellows who provide critical care at public hospitals throughout Nigeria, a country with one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios in the world with two doctors per 10,000 people, according to the Nigerian Medical Association.
The resident doctors have been on strike since July 26 because they demand the payment of arrears, a salary increase and improvements in working conditions.
Instead of meeting the strikers’ demands, however, the health ministry ordered a “no work, no pay” policy as well as other “punitive measures,” Orji told The Associated Press.
In their letter to the Ministry of Health, the doctors said they will also hold sit-ins at government offices and other institutions until their demands are met.
“We are pained that instead of making genuine and concerted efforts to resolve the challenges that led to this (THE STRIKE) despite repeated ultimatums, our ministry and the federal government have chosen to demonize Nigerian resident doctors after all their sacrifices. and patriotism,” according to the letter.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
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