THE Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council, Jama Medan, has decried inadequate manpower in public primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in the nation’s capital.
In an interview with The ICIR, Medan said only 117 nurses and midwives worked in 270 PHCs in the FCT.
Besides, he said the last recruitment into the PHCs was in 2008.
Despite the shortage, Medan noted that there were over 3,000 licensed but unemployed nurses in the FCT who could be recruited.
He argued that no matter how nurses migrate out of the country, there would be more than enough to recruit for the nation’s health facilities.
Medan spoke on the backdrop of the impacts of the over two-month-old strike embarked upon by healthcare workers in the six area councils of the FCT. In addition to health workers, all primary school teachers and area council workers have downed tools since late March this year over the council’s alleged failure to pay the N70,000 minimum wage and other arrears.
Medan said, “Let me tell you the truth; the last recruitment of nurses and midwives done by the area councils was in 2008. Since 2008, there’s been no recruitment. People have retired, some have died, and others have left the country. That’s why the numbers have dropped.”
He added that in some places in the FCT, some PHCs were closed down because “the government doesn’t care. How can you have 270 PHCs with only 117 nurses and midwives?” he queried.
He said shutting down primary healthcare centres had serious implications for the health and well-being of FCT residents.
He added that pregnant women and children were mostly at risk of dying if they could not access care.
The nurses’ leader said in February, before the strike, 104 pregnant women gave birth at the Karamajiji Primary Health Care near the National Stadium, and 28 women delivered their babies at the PHC Kuchigoro, while another 23 put to bed at the Kuje Health Centre.
He said the shutdown of the facilities had far-reaching consequences, including the failure of people living with tuberculosis (TB) and HIV not having access to their drugs for two months.
“Tuberculosis patients are not supposed to miss even one medication because of the risk of them developing resistance to their drugs. Since we closed these facilities for the past two months, those TB patients have not been getting their drugs, and they stand the risk of infecting other people,” he said.
He raised similar concerns about vaccination, particularly the oral polio vaccination.
Medan attributed the closure to the Area Council chairmen’s alleged refusal to pay the minimum wage and other workers’ entitlements, despite allegedly receiving funds for the payment from the government.
He cited a meeting at the House of Representatives where the chairmen were asked to explain the use of N4.1 billion, which he said was released to them, but they failed to provide a satisfactory account.
The NANNM chairman called on the National Assembly and the Presidency to intervene and call the Area Council chairmen to order.
He opined that the crisis sent the wrong signal to donors, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Fund, which support healthcare programmes in the country.
A reporter with the ICIR
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