The association disclosed this in a communique issued on Monday after its National Executive Council meeting in Abuja themed, ‘Achieving Universal Health Coverage in a depressed economy.’
The communique was signed by the association’s President, Dr. Uche Ojinmah, and the Secretary-General, Dr. Jide Onyekwelu.
“The NEC observed that Nigeria is heading for a catastrophic human resource in health crisis if the current rate of migration of medical and dental practitioners to overseas ‘Japa syndrome’ is not reversed immediately.
“The NEC expressed great worry at the fact that despite the tremendous efforts being made by healthcare workers to deliver healthcare services to Nigerians, they were still violently assaulted and kidnapped in their workplaces and other places.
“The NEC also frowned at the inability of governments at all levels to effectively check security lapses and the ravaging incidence of kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and extra-judicial killing of Nigerians,” the communique read in parts.
The association’s NEC also noted that despite considerable efforts, progress towards UHC targets in Nigeria has been slow.
It said the delayed progress towards UHC is further threatened by shifts in demography, transitioning of disease burden, reduction in development assistance for health, and poor domestic health finance.
It noted as unacceptable, the current situation where about 80 per cent of Nigerians pay out-of-pocket for their medical expenses and insurance.
The NEC stated that health insurance holds the capacity to provide solutions to accessible, affordable, and sustainable healthcare delivery for Nigerians.
“The NEC noted that the present Federal Government led by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu GCFR has proposed five per cent of the total budget for 2024 to health; this is an improvement on previous budgets but this is still far from the benchmark of 15 per cent proposed by the Abuja declaration of 2001,” it said.
It also condemned the non-implementation of the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure circular and Accoutrement allowance as circularized since July 2023 by the Federal Government despite several reminders and entreaties.
“The NEC noted as unacceptable the recent obnoxious directive by the Management of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, asking the medical students to sign an undertaking that their statutory six-year medical undergraduate programme could be extended to over 12 years.
“The NEC further regarded the above action as unfair, very irritable, and highly provocative to the tenets of the international human rights law, constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and civil liberty.
“NEC also condemned the authorities of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State for charging astronomically high school fees from the medical students and condemning the students to pay school fees without progression in academic level,” it added.
