The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Mohammed Suleiman, has fired a warning shot at policymakers, insisting that money poured into healthcare is not a drainpipe but a goldmine for national survival.
Suleiman made the point on Tuesday in Jos during NARD’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, themed “Innovating for equity: Technology as a bridge between poverty and health”.
He argued that Nigeria’s health sector is standing on a knife-edge and can no longer survive cosmetic fixes, stressing that only bold, people-driven reforms can pull it back from the brink.
“The expenditures made by the government in the health sector shouldn’t be seen as expenditures but as investments, as the sector is in urgent need of decisive, people-centred reforms.
Improvement of doctors’ welfare, remuneration, training, retention and infrastructure are no longer optional but critical to safeguarding the nation’s healthcare system,” he stated.
According to him, NARD is already rolling up its sleeves by pushing people-oriented initiatives, including the creation of a functional NARD Cooperative Society and the design of a sustainable welfare scheme for its members.
He listed other plans on the table to include the launch of strategic ventures such as water bottling, the introduction of welfare-focused innovations that place resident doctors at the heart of decision-making, and the expansion of the association’s corporate social responsibility footprint.
Suleiman added that NARD, which represents resident doctors across Nigeria’s teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centres, would keep the pressure on authorities to enact reforms that curb brain drain, improve working conditions and raise the standard of healthcare delivery nationwide.
He noted that the NEC meeting would feature robust debates on pressing healthcare challenges, scientific sessions and strategic planning aimed at strengthening both the role and welfare of resident doctors across the country.
In the same vein, the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Dr Kwarshak Kevin, blamed the worsening brain drain in the health sector on poor pay and punishing work schedules.
Kevin urged the government to regulate doctors’ working hours in line with global best practices.
“You can imagine a surgeon works on the average of 120 hours in a week, which translates to working for 6 days without rest, which is unacceptable as the chances of medical errors play out,” he said.
The event was chaired by Prof. Christopher Piwuna, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and also drew the Chief Medical Director of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Dr Pokop Bupwatda.
The five-day NEC meeting began on Jan. 25 and is scheduled to wrap up on Jan. 29.
