Top Tweets for #nardstrike

As a doctor of Nigerian origin, I wish to let people know the truth and understand exactly what the healthcare situation in Nigeria looks like. First, the headline attached doesn't capture the whole truth because even though salary is a big issue, it is not just about the pay. Yes, Nigerian doctors are among the lowest-paid in the world. With monthly salaries below $300–$320 for entry-level positions, outearned by doctors in over 45 other African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and many more. Most Nigerian resident doctors can't sustain their households on their pay. But beyond that, the doctors are striking to survive a system that is deliberately chronically underfunded, overstretched, and haemorrhaging the best talents. Yes, they are striking for poor pay. But they are also striking for unsafe working conditions, where some doctors have collapsed and d!ed on the ward while on duty due to workload related stress. Yes, they are striking for pay. But they are also striking against a diabolical systemic healthcare facility neglect where a consumables such as cotton wool or syringes could be a luxury in an entire department. In some wards, patient relatives have to buy their own needles and syringes. In other centres, surgeons have to use phone torchlight to carry out major surgical operations in the middle of the night! This is a country where maternal and infant mortality are consistently the highest in the world, even more than countries like Afghanistan, with decades of war. This is a country where primary (PHC), secondary (General Hospitals) and tertiary (Teaching Hospitals) healthcare systems are diabolically crippled to the point where they can't perform the duties they were originally meant to perform. Those still trying to hold firm are overwhelmed by cases that are supposed to be managed at lower tier centres. But this is also a country where the president and his cohort are flown abroad in private jets, regularly, for medical care, while the everyday citizens are left to their fate when they fall ill. So, yes, these doctors are not striking for headlines like this. They are striking to perform CPR on a system that is in cardiac arrest.