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Doctors suspend strike

    ABIDJAN

    Doctors in Nigeria’s public hospitals have suspended an 18-day strike for improved conditions of service after the government approved significant pay increases, AFP reported.

    The agency reported that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the umbrella union for doctors, only suspended their action on Friday to await implementation of the deal it reached with the government.

    “We have suspended the action because we do not trust the government. If the government reneges on the agreement, we will resume the strike,” Bayo Aderiye, NMA secretary-general, was quoted as saying.

    The doctors who run government-owned hospitals nationwide began their strike on May 29 against government’s failure to implement an agreement reached last year following a three-month strike. The action paralysed public health care services across the country, forcing patients on admission to be discharged and leaving thousands of outpatients without treatment.

    Doctors working for hospitals owned by state governments in some parts of the country have refused to call off their action to press their employers into accepting the settlement the NMA reached with the federal government. According to the AFP the least paid doctor earns around 36,000 naira (US $318) a month, while the highest paid consultants earn up to 70,000 naira ($619)

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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