They say health is wealth, but the trajectory of our collective story as Nigerians over the years has proven otherwise. The recent statistics on the doctor-to-patient ratio, with one doctor serving 9,083 Nigerians, issued by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), are not just alarming but a resounding call for urgent reforms in the health sector to ensure Nigerians’ sustainable health.
While we continue to advocate for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 at global platforms and seek sponsorship, the commensurate level of support should never fail to be our priority at home. What is uniquely important is the message we are sending to donors: if we cannot fund the health sectors that directly affect every part of our lives, then how can they trust us with some funds to take care of ourselves?
The 2001 Abuja Declaration on health financing that mandates African Union members to allot at least 15 per cent of the national budget to their respective health sectors has been a litmus test of our resolve to health. This challenge is not unique to Nigeria; many other African countries are also facing similar issues. Dedicating a good amount of money to cater to our collective health should not be much of a burden; we cannot handle it.
Dr Mohammad Sulieman, NARD President, Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, and Dr Abdulmajid Ibrahim, issuing a press statement to commemorate Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary, paint a picture of the situation the country finds itself in with these words. “With an estimated population of over 240 million people and only about 11,000 resident doctors, Nigeria records a ratio of 1:9,083. This is far from global best practice. Furthermore, Nigerian resident doctors work an average of 106.5 hours per week, with surgical residents enduring over 122.7 hours weekly. This translates to an average of four to five days of 24-hour call duty per week.”
The 16,000 Nigerian doctors who have jetted out of the country over the past seven years in search of greener pastures are a reflection of the plights these professionals have found themselves in, not an indication of their will to leave their brothers and sisters to a foreign land.
For medical doctors who have maintained their resilience and patriotism to remain and render health services to vulnerable Nigerians, NARD says this is their story: “This situation is deeply troubling. It inevitably leads to increased medical errors due to burnout, endangering patients’ safety, with a severe toll on the mental, physical, and psychological well-being of doctors. Too often, resident doctors sacrifice their health, and sometimes their lives, in service to their patients.
In narrating their ordeals, the medical association continued, saying, “The consequences are tragically evident with early-career doctors paying the ultimate prices. But the painful question remains: who cares for their families and dependents after their passing? The bigger question is: How many more lives must we lose before decisive action is taken?”
This is saddening. You can feel their emotion and pain in the above words; the work and commitment they swore an oath to uphold is crushing them under the same beds they are attending to. What an irony. It is against this backdrop that NARD is saying, “With effect from October 1, 2025, all resident doctors across the country shall cease taking continuous calls beyond 24 hours. There must be a call-free period after every call. This decision is not just necessary but vital, in line with the principles of self-preservation enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath. “We cannot continue to lose our members to preventable and avoidable deaths — not now, and not in the future.”
As we reflect on Nigeria’s 65 years of Independence, doctors recount their 24-hour, continuous, and uninterrupted calls; the poor condition of service, as evidenced by a brief enumeration; and the rampant attacks on medical practitioners. A long walk to freedom awaits us all.
We must acknowledge that the statistics given by NARD might keep depreciating if urgent actions are not taken religiously. Medical immigration has taken the lead, with our best physicians leaving our shores for countries that understand their worth because we fail to look into their welfare.
Posterity will reward us if we decide to harness and see potential in our challenges and face them squarely by boldly taking the audacious step of rebuilding the broken walls of our health care system. Come to think of it, the flimsy excuses we give for not funding national pillars, such as the health sector, in the name of prioritising other sectors, should not be something we talk about, let alone execute.
Meanwhile, unborn generations will find it difficult to forgive our complacency and deliberate resistance to meaningful change that transcends the bills in our hallowed chambers and the glittering Aso. Yet we have the will and chance to rewrite our story. Let’s retell our story.
