NASU makes case for sustainable health sector

With the upsurge of activities in Nigeria’s health sector to contain the spread of coronavirus, organised labour has stated that the trend, if sustained, would put Nigeria in good stead as a medical destination for other African countries.

The Non-Academic Staff Union of  Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has, as such, called for the consolidation and sustenance of the current move, even after the end of the epidemic.

The general secretary of the union, Peters Adeyemi, commending Nigerian health workers in the forefront of the pandemic crisis, said the union hoped what the nation is currently witnessing in the health sector would not be a flash in the pan that would cease at the end of the pandemic.

“There is no doubt that, if the three tiers of government, with periodic strategic interventions from the private sector, continue at this pace, there will no longer be a need for government officials and other well-to-do Nigerians to seek medical treatment abroad for every ailment. Nigeria may as well become a medical destination for our fellow Africans,” he said.

Adeyemi said it was heartwarming to note that the federal and state governments as well as captains of industry have realised the importance of adequate funding of the health sector, which includes equipping hospitals, providing funds for continuous research and training of health workers, as well as showing concern for workers’ welfare in the interest of the nation at large.

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He said, “We wish to express our appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari, state governors, captains of industry as well as members of various committees working at the federal and state levels for their time, efforts and financial commitment aimed at drastically reducing the spread of the global pandemic in Nigeria.”

The general secretary said the union was with all workers in the health sector of the country fighting the coronavirus pandemic, especially members in the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), who are at the forefront of the battle to save the lives of Nigerians and nationals of other countries who have tested positive and are placed in isolation in the various centres across the country and those who might test positive to the virus.

He said, “We salute the comradeship among these workers with no barriers based on profession and rank. All hands have been on deck, from cleaners and drivers to nurses and medical doctors and other categories of health workers, as stated by the chief medical director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, during the commissioning of the hospital’s isolation wards.

“One thing common to all of them is the joint efforts to save the lives of their patients at the risk of their personal lives and those of their families.”

Adeyemi called on all Nigerians to obey all guidelines, instructions and directives of government, including laws aimed at securing the lives of Nigerians and containing the spread of the virus, noting that these measures are in the overall interest of all.

The union also appealed to the federal and state governments as well as Nigerians of means to increase and appropriately coordinate all welfare packages they are putting together, so that these welfare packages can reach the masses who have been hard hit by the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic.

Source: The Sun