By Chris Nyamtu
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nasarawa State branch, has called on the federal and state governments to strengthen collaboration towards ensuring adequate security for medical doctors and other health workers across the country.
The State Chairman of the Association, Dr. Isa Ohyoma, made the call during a press briefing to mark the 2025 Physicians’ Week in Keffi.
Dr. Ohyoma expressed concern that many health workers operate under fear and uncertainty due to the rising cases of kidnapping, banditry, and other security challenges. He stressed the need for the Federal Government to provide sufficient resources to state governments to better equip security agencies for effective operations.
The NMA chairman also described as “unacceptable and below expectation” the allocation of only 9 percent of the national budget to the health sector, saying the poor funding continues to weaken service delivery. He revealed that the doctor-to-patient ratio in the state currently stands at 1:6000, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation.
Dr. Ohyoma further urged the Nasarawa State Government to intensify efforts to ensure the provision of at least one functional primary healthcare centre in each of the 147 wards across the state, to reduce maternal mortality.
“Our mothers should not be losing their lives in the process of creating another one,” he said.
On welfare matters, the NMA chairman appealed to the government to immediately commence payment of the five months’ arrears arising from the 25 and 35 percent salary upward review, and to honour existing agreements with the association to sustain industrial harmony.
He also urged the state government to fast-track the takeover of the Specialist Hospital in Akwanga to ease the workload on doctors and other healthcare professionals in the state.
The theme for the 2025 Physician Week is “Health Care as a Value Chain: Building Efficiency from Policy to Patient.” (Radio Nigeria)