The Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria has called for increased budgetary allocation for the health sector to improve the quality of health care delivery in the country.
The President of NARD, Dr. Innocent Orji, said this at the end of the three-day National Executive Council meeting of the association in Uyo on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting “Uyo 2023” was tagged “Improved Health Worker Wellbeing: A Brain Drain Panacea (Politicians and Doctors Perspectives)”.
Orji, who said the increase should be in line with the 15 percent annual budget allocation, added that it will be in line with the 2001 Abuja declaration on health care financing in Africa and best practices in the world.
He said the NEC of NARD also urged the Federal Ministry of Health to expedite actions to check brain drain by implementing a “one-stop” policy to replace outgoing doctors and clinical staff.
“NEC welcomes the commission set up by the Federal Government to alleviate the brain drain in the health sector.
“The association calls for the speedy completion of the task and the immediate implementation of the recommendations to improve the health service and reduce the emigration of qualified health workers from the country.
“The NEC calls for an increase in the funding of the country’s health sector, based on the annual budget allocation of 15 percent, in line with the 2001 Abuja declaration on health care financing in Africa and global best practices.
“(We also call for) digitization of health services to improve the quality of health service to Nigerian citizens,” Orji said.
He said the NEC in its resolution asked the medical directors of tertiary hospitals in the country to take charge of security in their various hospitals as NARD would no longer see members assaulted by staff, relatives of patients or security personnel.
According to him, the association asked the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to investigate and arrest the perpetrators of the illegal shootings in Delta by one of its members and ensure that they are duly punished as a deterrent to others.
“We demand that the injured doctor be properly compensated for the trauma and replace the damaged vehicle. The NEC gives the IGP two weeks to do this, because at the end of the two weeks we would review the situation; the situation and our position would be taken later if the answer is not satisfactory,” he said.
Orji said the NEC urged the National Assembly to enact laws to protect the lives and welfare of doctors and health workers because the rate of attacks on its members outside hospitals was alarming.
He called on the Federal Government, the Nigerian Governors Forum and all stakeholders to urgently pay the governors of Abia, Ondo and Ekiti the salaries and allowances owed to their members.
IN
