Olurunnimbe Mamora, the minister of state for health, has
called on the striking resident doctors to return to the negotiating table with
the federal government.
The minister made the appeal to the National Association of
Resident Doctors (NARD) on Tuesday in Abuja.
The doctors had embarked on an indefinite strike which started
on August 2 to press home the implementation of the memorandum of understanding
they entered into with the federal government in March 2021.
Mamora said discussing with the association and negotiating
on ways to address the issues raised by the association would give opportunity
for industrial peace and enable citizens to access healthcare.
He said: “I encourage you to ensure industrial peace in the
health sector so that citizens can reap maximum benefits from your efforts.
“In saying this, there cannot be a better time and
opportunity for me to appeal to doctors who are currently on strike.
“My appeal is that they return to the negotiating table so
that whatever outstanding issues can be sorted out. That is my passionate
appeal to all our colleagues.
“Even in times of
war, the combatants at the end of the day come to the roundtable for amicable
resolution of issues. That is my appeal to our colleagues all over the country
who are currently engaged in the strike for the benefit of our people.”
Mamora reiterated the federal government’s commitment to
addressing infectious diseases, including efforts to expand healthcare coverage
in the country.
He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari is taking all necessary
steps to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness and response to emerging and
re-emerging infectious diseases through the provision of medical
infrastructure.
“One of these efforts is making medical oxygen available in
tertiary institutions.
“Furthermore, medical
practice in Nigeria needs to align with the new normal way of life.
Telemedicine allows long-distance patients and physicians to interact and
obtain care, advice, monitoring, education, and remote admission.
“The federal ministry of health is currently developing
telemedicine and intends to maximise its use to expand healthcare coverage.”
The minister said the government is making efforts toward
revamping primary healthcare facilities.
“This will be done at the community level and the primary
healthcare workers have been trained on clinical case detection. This capacity
building is an ongoing and continuous process,” he said.
“We as a country
cannot afford to be complacent because the cost of complacency in infectious
disease control can be enormous.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com