The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has called on governments
at all levels to end medical tourism by improving funding to the health sector.
Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, said this on Thursday in
Abuja at a ceremony to mark the 2020 Global Day of Action on Care.
This year’s ceremony has the theme: “Invest in Care Now!’’
Wabba said that the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed the
neglect of the healthcare industry in the country.
According to him, COVID-19 has fully exposed several
countries, including Nigeria, as not having invested enough in health care
institutions, putting everyone, both rich and poor, at high risks.
”The theme: ‘Invest in Care Now!’ is to drum up demands for
heavy investments in the care sector by our Government and big businesses, if
we must keep a healthy society and productive human resource base.
“Apart from the open fact that our health care sector has
been neglected for too long, health care workers have been subjected to unfair
treatment for too long.
“Essential workers, as they are often called at crisis
times, do not have the necessary personal protective equipment to work with,
especially before the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Government waited for the pandemic before it woke up to the
reality of the decadence in our health care sector. Even now, enough has not
been done to properly equip the sector and properly kit health workers across
the country,” he regretted.
“I also call on the
Federal Government to pay the two months salaries owed health workers arising
from an industrial dispute in 2018,” Wabba added.
“We also demand a quick conclusion on negotiations on salary
adjustment for JOHESU members in line with alternative dispute resolution
processes of National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which all parties involved
in the negotiation are subjected to.
“We also call for an end to all forms of medical tourism,
especially by our elected and appointed public officials.
“We reiterate our position that the government must be ready
to invest heavily in the health sector as no country survives without effective
health care.”
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Wishful thinking and dreams. How can it be when the leader of medical tourism is the head of SARS State-Aided Robbery Squad himself @MBuhari.
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