Strike
By Dorcas Jonah
Abuja, May 31, 2018 (NAN) The National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) has appealed to health workers to end the their prolonged indefinite strike that has crippled healthcare delivery nationwide.
The NCWS National President, Mrs Gloria Shoda, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, called for a peaceful resolution to the stalemate.
Shoda noted that the health workers’ strike was adversely affecting essential services and healthcare delivery to the detriment of Nigerians.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) embarked on a nationwide strike in April to protest the non-payment of their upward adjustment and other entitlements.
NAN report that series of meetings between the Federal Government and JOHESU executives had not produced a positive outcome.
“I have been monitoring the situation between the two parties and as the popular saying goes “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers the most.
“Thus, it is with great sadness that I have read several reports of patients losing their lives due to the strike.
“Nurses and midwives in particular, who are core part of service delivery, are absent from our state hospitals wards.”
“Pregnant women are not receiving critical ante-natal care they require and those at the point of childbirth have no medical staff to assist them.
“In the face of existing high numbers of maternal and infant mortalities, I find this unacceptable. The statistics are out there in the public domain.”
According to her, Nigeria has one of the highest rates of death among women and children due to an already weak healthcare system.
She said that the country could not afford to let the strike continue with no end in sight.
“Our women go to the maternity wards to bring forth new lives and should be taken care of in accordance with the Hippocratic Oath.
“I, therefore, on behalf of Nigerian women, urge both parties to please go back to the negotiation table and jointly seek a way to bring this unfortunate situation to an end, so that Nigerian women and the generality of the people, can visit our public hospitals and expect to receive normal healthcare services.’’
Shoda enjoined Nigerians to join her in prayers toward an amicable outcome between both parties.(NAN)
DE/NKO/NKO
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Edited by Nkechi Okoronkwo