NMA President blames FG over increase in Covid 19 index cases in Nigeria
Steve Ovirih.
The President of Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Francis Dayo Faduyile has expressed his disappointment over the increase in the index cases of coronavirus in Nigeria. Dr. Faduyile said the poor handling of the issue by Federal government was what has increased the number of those who have contracted the virus.
” We would have recorded low coronavirus index cases if the Federal Government had not failed to heed the warning to stop international flights two weeks earlier,” Faduyile noted. We advised federal government to stop international flights knowing full well that at the onset of the increase in the index cases , the carriers were people coming from abroad, but government did not enforce flight stoppage two weeks after we advised them and by that time, a lot of carriers of the virus had flooded the country and now we are facing the threat of community transmission, Faduyile regretted.
The Nigeria Medical Association top boss said the body felt embarrassed that the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ehanire and federal government obviously sidelined NMA in the fight to contain the spread of the disease in Nigeria. ” Federal government ignored NMA in constituting Presidential Task Force Committee on Covid 19.”
Wondering why the Minister of Health did not carry NMA along, the NMA boss said while the minister might have been busy in his activities, it is a clear show of the fact that the minister has not been using his arsenal objectively.
Faduyile reacting to how the Minister of Health has sidelined NMA, said it was expected that there would be stakeholders’ meeting where all principal officers expected to treat those infected will be in attendance to channel their thoughts on the way forward, noting that if federal government sidelines NMA it shows a shoddy handling of the challenge at hand by the Federal Ministry of Health.
“As a matter of fact we had advised them before now to halt international flights when covid 19 index case could still be counted on the tip of our fingers, we were ignored. What do we have now? The cases have hit the ceiling and we are at that point where we have to face the threat of community transmission, a very dire situation indeed.”
Dr. Francis Faduyile said NMA knows what the health system is in Nigeria and that was why the body called for urgent action but government waited for too long , far too long!
He noted that the body was shocked that the head of medical association in Nigeria was excluded from the Presidential Task Force Committee on covid 19, stressing that the body has first hand information on health issues, record and appropriate information on the health challenges in the country.
The Minister of health had berated NMA for claiming that the country doesn’t have adequate ventilators .
Reacting , Dr. Faduyile said whatever information NMA gives is sourced from units across the country, thus information given on inadequate ventilators are very correct, adding that the Minister of Health did not appreciate the huge input of NMA in calling back to work medical doctors across the country who have gone on strike because their salaries were not paid.
Faduyile said medical doctors in Abuja have not been paid salary for the upward of four months because of the independent payroll challenge , and same thing it is all over the country, but regardless of the pay challenge the body appealed to its members and they have since called off the strike. He charged the Federal Government to make adequate provision for all the necessary kits and aids for medical personnel who are In the forefront of fighting the covid 19 scourge.
