The Federal Government should consider declaring a state of emergency in the nation’s health sector due to a number of issues, the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) have said.
The MDCAN’s newly elected National President, Dr Victor Makanjuola, made this call at a news conference organised by the National Officers’ Committee (NOC) of the association on Sunday in Ibadan.
The president said that members of the association, at the 12th Biennial Delegates Meeting, were alarmed by the exodus of medical doctors, spate of insecurity, poor welfare of members and lack of modern facilities, among other issues.
He said that all these call for a state of emergency in the health sector to tackle the numerous problems bedeviling it.
“They need to declare an emergency is glaring to all. We have a health sector where doctors have been on strike for the past one month and other health workers are threatening to go on strike.
“A health sector that lacks the patronage of our top politicians and civil servants. One that ranks 100 and above in terms of infant and maternal mortality and all other basic indices.
“When you have all these going on, it is imperative that government should take healthcare seriously and direct attention toward the sector.
“It is the duty of the government to change the course, otherwise we will have a total collapse.
“The situation is clear and it is almost an emergency; we need the government’s participation in the management of this emergency,” Makanjuola said.