Health

The UN World Health Organisation, WHO has warned that funding cut by the United States –Agency For International Development, USAID, is threatening decades of progress recorded in the fight against tuberculosis that is still one of the world’s deadliest infectious disease. The health agency highlighted that essential services like prevention, testing, and treatment are collapsing before their eyes, leaving millions vulnerable.

Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of University Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) across the country have raised alarm that tertiary health hospitals in Nigeria are facing threats of becoming empty as doctors, nurses and other skilled health workers are dumping Nigerian hospitals for greener pastures abroad. They lamented that despite the federal government effort in revamping the health infrastructure; the movement has continued unabated and is grossly affecting the healthcare delivery services in the country.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has today, destroyed expired, unregistered, counterfeit, and smuggled drugs and related products worth ₦10,991,458,374.60. Accordingly, the destroyed products were seized items from five states of the Southwest Zone region (excluding Lagos) and Kwara State in the North Central Zone due to its proximity, and were all incinerated in Ibadan for the destruction.

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) inducted 606 medical and 16 dental foreign-trained doctors into the medical profession in the country.

The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, has expresses concern over the number of doctors leaving the country due to poor payment of wage. The Chairman of the NMA, Kano State branch, Abdurrahman Ali lamented that 15, 000 medical doctors exit Nigeria as of 2024 due to poor remuneration. Ali revealed this during a media conference reflecting on the progress and issues confronting doctors at the year’s physician week with the theme ‘Ensuring Universal Applicability in Remuneration: a Panacea to Talent Retention in the Healthcare System’.

Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Health Care Professionals (JOHESU) have been directed to proceed on a seven-day warning strike, commencing from midnight on Friday. The National Chairman of the Union, Kabiru Minjibir while addressing journalists in Abuja, added that the strike comes after a fifteen day notice of industrial action issued to the Federal Government. Minjibir highlighted some of their demands to include immediate implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), payment of a twenty-five percent review of its arrears from June to December 2023.