ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi
Doctors in Bauchi State, under the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on Monday joined the nationwide indefinite strike embarked upon by their association.
Muhammad Kabir, NARD’s President, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, (ATBUTH), Bauchi Chapter, told our Correspondent that the strike commenced 8am.
He said the two chapters of the Association in the state at the ATBUTH and the Federal Medical Center, Azare joined the industrial action in line with the directives of its National Secretariat.
Kabir said that the union is mindful of the health situation the country is at the moment particularly, with the COVID-19 pandemic pointing out that it was because of this that doctors who are not part of the COVID-19 pandemic fight were exempted from the industrial action.
He said: “We actually suspended the strike in June to give time for the government and our leaders time to interface for one month, then, if there’s no headway, we resume and that I what we have done. So, this is the continuation of the other strike.
“Let me tell you that as at today, 16 of our members have died of COVID-19 nationwide because they had no Personal Protective Equipment. And when they died, there was nothing for them, no insurance, nothing for them from the government.
“And if we continue like this, tomorrow you’ll come to the hospital for malaria treatment and you will not see any doctor because he has died of COVID-19, and there is nothing for his family and that I one of the things we are looking for.
“Even at that, when we went on strike, we asked our members who are at the Isolation and treatment centers for COVID-19 to continue staying there, they would not join the strike, but others are joining the strike and it’s because we are very mindful that was why we did that.
“We want the health sector to change, we want it to be a better place that is why we are fighting. It is not only for us but it is for everybody and we are mindful of COVID-19.
“As of today, we have more than 300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Resident Doctors across the country who are either mild, moderate of severe of the COVID-19.”
The Chairman called on the federal government to fulfill its own part of the agreement because the deadline agreed with the government had elapsed.
“It was even the government that pleaded with us to give them one month when we embarked on the strike on 15th June and within one week of the strike, they pleaded with us to give them one month to sort things out.
“We assured them that if after one month, nothing was done, we would resume our strike and that one month expired on 22nd of July and this is over six weeks since then,” he stated.
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