Health
Resident Doctors Set to Begin Nationwide Indefinite Strike on April 7 Over Unmet Demands
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to commence a total and indefinite nationwide strike starting at midnight on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, citing the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement key agreements.
In a statement following an Extraordinary National Executive Council (e-NEC) meeting, NARD President Dr. Mohammed Suleiman said the strike, tagged: No Implementation, No Going Back,” is aimed at pressing the government to address several outstanding issues.
These include the reinstatement of five dismissed colleagues, payment of promotion and salary arrears across various health institutions, timely release of funds under the 2026 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), and clearance of long-overdue professional allowances.
The association is also protesting the alleged suspension or scrapping of the agreed Professional Allowance Table (PAT), describing the government’s action as unjustifiable and a threat to doctors’ welfare and the stability of the health sector.
Despite the Federal Government’s recent release of ₦21.3 billion (with additional tranches processed) to clear outstanding allowances of which about 60% of affected doctors have reportedly received alerts NARD maintains that critical demands remain unaddressed.
The group insists the strike will proceed unless there is full implementation of the agreements reached in previous negotiations.
“The responsibility to avert this lies with the Federal Government,” sources close to the association emphasised, warning that partial payments and unfulfilled promises have eroded trust.
Healthcare stakeholders have expressed concern over the potential impact of the strike. Resident doctors form a critical backbone of service delivery in teaching hospitals and federal medical centres across the country.
A shutdown is expected to disrupt emergency care, outpatient services, surgeries, and training programmes, putting additional strain on an already overstretched system and leaving many patients vulnerable.
The development comes amid recurring industrial disputes in Nigeria’s health sector, with NARD previously suspending strikes after signing memoranda of understanding with the government, only for fresh disagreements to arise over implementation.
As of now, neither the Federal Ministry of Health nor the Presidency has issued an official response to the latest announcement, though past statements have highlighted efforts to meet multiple demands and urged dialogue to prevent disruption of essential services.
Patients and the public have been advised to seek updates from their local hospitals and explore alternative care options where possible as the April 7 deadline approaches.
Health
From South Africa to US, ‘Cicada’ COVID-19 variant spreading
According to the latest available data from the health authorities, this variant has been spotted in 23 countries and in wastewater from 25 US states.
• New Cicada COVID variant detected across US states.
“Cicada” a nickname given to BA.3.2, a COVID-19 variant, is spreading around the world , according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
Like most other variants, the symptoms of the Cicada variant are the same as those of other COVID-19 variant infections.
According to the CDC, these includes:
Runny or stuffy nose, Fever, Headache, Fatigue, Sneezing, Sore throat,Cough, Muscle pain or body aches Vomiting, Diarrhea, and Changes to the sense of smell or taste.
According to the latest available data from the health authorities, this variant has been spotted in 23 countries and in wastewater from 25 US states.
In November 2024, BA.3.2 popped up in a nose swab of a 5-year-old boy in South Africa, and it looked very different than its parent virus.
It was first picked up in the US last summer, in a traveler from the Netherlands.
In January , the first clinical sample from a sick patient turned out to be BA.3.2.
It appears to be circulating in the US at low levels, although testing has been scaled back since the height of the pandemic, so it may be more widespread than currently known.
Health
Fire Razes Ebonyi Ministry of Health Section
” Different vaccines like BCG, penta, HPV vaccine etc that were all stored in that cold room were burnt”.
A section of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, weekend , was gutted by fire with property worth hundreds of millions of naira destroyed.
The inferno destroyed the cold store housing immunisation and solar units which contained vaccines, vaccine carriers, cold chain boxes, laptops, documents, five refrigerators, two solar refrigerators, 45 solar batteries, inverters, including hospitals beds and foams received from the National Primary Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA), Abuja, for distribution to local government areas across the state, among others.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Ekuma, lamented the disaster and thanked God that no life was lost. He thanked the Commissioner for Power and Energy, the fire service personnel, and the security men who alerted him on time for their prompt response, which made the fire not spread to other parts of the building.
He said, “Different vaccines like BCG, penta, HPV vaccine etc that were all stored in that cold room were burnt”.
Health
Health Workers Protest Against Regulatory Bill
They maintain that all health professions have their regulatory bodies, and that the new bill was seeking to make other health professionals second-class to medical doctors.
Health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions and the Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations are protesting against the proposed health sector regulatory bill, which is before the National Assembly.
They said that if allowed to pass, the law would subject every medical profession to the regulation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
They maintain that all health professions have their regulatory bodies, and that the new bill was seeking to make other health professionals second-class to medical doctors.
The protesters plan to also go to the National Assembly, where they hope to present their case to lawmakers.
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