2023 Nurses Week: Experts call for partnership to address health challenges.

By AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja

Nigerian Nurses have been urged to strengthen partnership with relevant stakeholders in health sector in order to address health challenges in the country.

The former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Ayuba Wabba who made the called at the 2023 FCT Annual Nurses Week/Scientific Workshop , with the Theme: “Our Nurses, Our Future”, in Abuja yesterday commended Nigerian Nurses for always working had to save lives despite numerous challenges faced in the process of doing their job.

He said those challenges could be overcomed if the Nurses work in partnership with relevant stakeholders, and also with the intervention of federal government.

According to the former NLC boss, there is no doubt that Nurses occupy the heart of healthcare delivery in the country, noting that they should be given favourable working environment for effective healthcare delivery.

Lamenting that the challenges facing health sector in the country are enormous,  the congress former president said the health workers and Nigerian workers generally are overstressed, considering what they earn.

He emphasized that Nigerian workers earnings cannot meet their immediate needs, while calling on government to remedy the situation for the good of the country.

Wabba said the current inflation rate of 24.08 percent which he said is the highest in the country for more than 10 years now, accosioned by the fall of naira and the very high cost of living, has pushed many people into extreem poverty in the country.

He said that the theme of the conference “our Nurses, Our future” alligned with the objective set out by the International Nursing Council to address global health challenges, with COVID-19 pandemic effects in mind.

The NLC former boss therefore called for synergy in healthcare delivery, while commending participants and organisers of the event.

In his presentation, the Registrar/CEO, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria Abuja, Dr. Faruk Abubakar said countries in the world today develop strong resistance to migration of healthcare professionals, which Nurses are inclusive.

He attributed factors responsible for the migration of Nurses and other health professionals in the country to lack of motivation, low salary, insecurity, poor working environment, denial of access to further education and others.

He urged government to better the lives of healthcare professionals in order prevent or reduce the issue of brain drain in the country.

Speaking earlier, the chairperson of National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM)  FCT council, Deborah Yusuf applauded the Nigerian Nurses and other health workers for living up to expectation in their places of assignment despite challenges faced by them, while calling for more support for efficiency in healthcare delivery.