Nigerian Doctors On Strike Over Pay, Inadequate Facilities

An indefinite strike by doctors has paralysed medical services at public hospitals in Nigeria, leaving hundreds of patients unattended. The National Association of Resident Doctors threatened to strike if the government failed to meet demands that include non-payment of allowances and lack of facilities at state-run hospitals. Doctors have been complaining at the lack of beds and drugs in hospitals and the inadequate protective kits. Other demands include life insurance coverage, a pay rise and payment of outstanding salaries. The doctors' union has previously called for work stoppages on similar issues, bringing activities in government hospitals to a grinding halt, before calling it off. Labour Minister Chris Ngige has appealed to doctors to consider the damage the strike would inflict to a health system already stressed by the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari is in London for a "routine" medical check-up, with his critics enraged at his frequent trips abroad for medical treatment and the country's fragile health care system.