The ongoing nationwide industrial action by Nigerian health workers under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has hampered medical services in the affected Federal Government’s health facilities across the country. The health workers embarked on the indefinite strike on April 18 over their unresolved welfare matters with the government.
According to the Chairman of the JOHESU at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Olusegun Sotiloye, the health workers are asking for an upward adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) from Level 09 to Level 15 as it was done for other medical practitioners under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) since January 2014.
They want the employment of additional health workers as well as an upward review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years. The health workers are also asking for increased funding for the hospitals and procurement of medical equipment.
The unions want the leadership of tertiary health institutions to be open to all qualified health professionals. The National Chairman of JOHESU, Mr. Biobelemoye Josiah, has also given similar reasons for the health workers’ strike.
It will be recalled that the health workers went on strike over the same welfare issues in September last year.
The ongoing strike by the health workers is not the best for the already beleaguered sector as many patients are left unattended. We urge the striking health workers and the concerned federal ministries and agencies to resolve the issues. It has, indeed, become necessary that the Federal Government should look into the health workers’ grouse without further delay.
We enjoin both parties to the industrial dispute to handle the matter dispassionately and in the spirit of give and take. It is also reassuring that the health authorities are already discussing with the striking workers on the contentious issues.
The health workers should also listen to the government so that at the end of it all, there will be a win-win situation on both sides. We decry the incessant industrial actions in the sector and enjoin the leadership of the health workers to always explore other options to settle such matters before embarking on any strike.
Strike should be used only when other options have failed. The Federal Government must consider seriously the issue of funding the health sector adequately. There is no way we can develop the human capital with poor funding of health and education sectors as Bill Gates recently observed. It is unfortunate that the Federal Government’s health sector funding has been hovering between 3.4 per cent and 5.6 per cent of the national budget for some years now.
Our health funding pales below the government’s endorsed World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation that 13 per cent of the national budget be allocated to the health sector. It also falls short of the 2001 Africa Union (AU) Abuja declaration that 15 per cent of the national budget be given to the health sector. The restiveness in the health sector can be traced to underfunding.
The general neglect of the sector may be responsible for medical tourism and brain drain in the sector. Over 4,765 Nigerian doctors work in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that about 2000 medical doctors leave the country annually for the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, United Arab Emirate (UAE) and South Africa.
The WHO recommended doctor/patient ratio is 1:600. In Nigeria, it is 1:6000, India has 1:2083 while US is 1:500. We urge the government to stop paying lip service to this important sector by ensuring that all the health workers are well paid. Government must make sure that our hospitals are well equipped and staffed with the required manpower.
We believe that this will reduce the brain drain in the sector and stop the thriving medical tourism by affluent Nigerians and political office holders. Government must also attend to the welfare of the health workers not necessarily when they embark on strike.
In the interest of the nation, the patients and the troubled sector, let the government and the striking workers through the ongoing negotiation reach an agreement and call off the strike forthwith.