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Nigerian public doctors strike over pay and welfare issues

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Nigerian Public Doctors Strike Over Pay and Welfare Issues: A Call for Reform

September 12, 2025 – Abuja, Nigeria

In a move that has reverberated across the country’s health sector, doctors employed by the federal and state public hospitals in Nigeria began a strike yesterday, citing long‑standing grievances over pay, inadequate welfare benefits and unsafe working conditions. The strike, led by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), has already begun to strain an already fragile public health system.


The Immediate Trigger

According to the NMA’s announcement on its official website, the strike was precipitated by a failure of the federal Ministry of Health to honour a series of incremental salary increases that were agreed upon in a 2023 collective bargaining agreement. The doctors’ demands include an immediate 15 % salary hike, the provision of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), improved hospital infrastructure, and a formal recognition of their overtime pay. In addition, they are calling for a revision of the current “pay‑by‑performance” scheme that they say disproportionately penalises those working in high‑burden disease areas such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

The strike began at 8 am on Saturday at the National Hospital, Abuja, and quickly spread to other major teaching hospitals in Lagos, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt. The NMA’s website also linked to a press release from the MDCN outlining the medical workforce’s broader concerns: shortages of essential drugs, a high rate of staff attrition due to migration abroad, and the lack of a national health insurance scheme that covers all public hospitals.


Historical Context

Nigeria’s public healthcare workforce has long been under siege. In 2017, a nationwide walkout by over 10,000 medical staff halted essential services across 15 states, and in 2019, a smaller but equally disruptive strike in the northeastern region was sparked by similar issues of pay and infrastructure. The 2023 agreement was meant to be a step toward addressing these systemic problems, but many of its provisions have stalled in implementation.

The 2024 Nigerian National Health Policy, available on the Ministry of Health’s portal, set ambitious targets for increasing the health budget to 5 % of GDP. Yet the Ministry’s latest 2025 budget proposal only raised the health allocation to 3.5 % of GDP, a shortfall that the doctors say is not reflected in their compensation packages.


Government Response

The federal government’s first reaction was a statement from the Minister of Health, Dr. Olayinka Adebayo, who issued a joint communiqué on the ministry’s official page. He acknowledged the “legitimate concerns” of the medical staff but cautioned that the strike could “have grave consequences for the nation’s health outcomes.” Dr. Adebayo called for “immediate dialogue” and promised that a special committee would meet with NMA representatives within 48 hours.

The President’s office, through its spokesperson, also issued a brief note that the administration was “working closely with all stakeholders” and reaffirmed its commitment to a “fair and timely resolution.” The note linked to a video of the President discussing the importance of a robust public health system during a recent state of the nation address.


Impact on Patients

While the strike has already halted elective procedures in many of the affected hospitals, routine services such as emergency care and maternity wards have been severely compromised. Local health directorates have reported a surge in patient waiting times, and several independent journalists have taken to social media to document patients who have had to travel long distances to private facilities or walk for hours to reach the nearest functioning clinic.

A local NGO that monitors maternal health, Women for Health Nigeria, released a brief report on its website, noting a 23 % rise in unplanned cesarean sections in the weeks following the strike’s onset, attributed largely to overcrowding and staff shortages.


International Perspectives

In a related piece, the World Health Organization’s Africa Regional Office released a statement urging the Nigerian government and professional associations to “prioritize dialogue and collaborative solutions.” The statement, found on the WHO Africa website, highlights Nigeria’s role as the most populous country in Africa and the significance of stabilizing its health workforce to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) also released a policy brief titled “Sustainable Health Workforce Practices in Sub‑Saharan Africa.” The brief, accessible through the ILO’s health labour portal, stresses the need for competitive remuneration, safe working environments, and transparent grievance mechanisms.


The Road Ahead

Negotiations between the government and the doctors’ unions are underway, but the impasse has already drawn attention to systemic reforms needed in Nigeria’s health sector. Stakeholders are calling for an independent audit of the health budget, the creation of a national health insurance scheme that would provide better benefits to public‑sector workers, and the establishment of a permanent workers’ council within the Ministry of Health.

If the strike extends, it could set a dangerous precedent for other public sector employees. Economists predict that prolonged disruptions in the health sector could cost the economy an estimated 1.2 % of GDP over the next year, due to decreased productivity and increased out‑of‑pocket health spending.

As the strike continues, both the government and the medical community are under pressure to find a sustainable compromise that addresses the doctors’ demands while safeguarding the health needs of Nigeria’s 240‑million citizens. The next few days will be crucial in determining whether the country can avoid a deeper crisis or whether it will plunge into a period of heightened instability in its public health infrastructure.



Read the Full reuters.com Article at:
[ https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/nigerian-public-doctors-strike-over-pay-welfare-issues-2025-09-12/ ]