Nigerian doctors call off strike

A deal has been brokered between the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and Nigeria’s federal government, bringing an end to a week-long strike.

NARD began the strike last Monday, as doctors complained of poor wages and working conditions with little or no government-provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).   

The Association represents 40% of all doctors in Nigeria. During the strike, no care medical care was provided to patients, including emergency medical assistance and treatment for Covid-19.

In response to the strike and the desperate need to have doctors return to hospitals to fight the pandemic, the federal government initially responded with counter-threats to Nigeria’s biggest medical union.

Last Tuesday, in a meeting between the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and NARD, the NGF Chairman reminded doctors of their Hippocratic oath and reminded them that "when you strike it is not the men in power that suffer but the common man on the streets."

The government had also threatened to invoke the ‘no work, no pay rule’ for doctors striking, but NARD refused to bow to pressure. Rather, the Association’s president described the threat as "empty and the biggest joke of the century".

On 19th June, the federal government accepted NARD’s demands and released N4.5 billion to medical and teaching centres. According to the union, however, the funds only reached doctors yesterday (21st June), delaying the return to work further for doctors.

Nigeria has officially recorded 20,244 cases and 518 deaths due to Covid-19.

Photo: Reuters