General News
Nurses demand better work conditions, welfare, as NARD strike persists
Nurses have urged the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, improve the welfare and working conditions of health workers in the country for improved services.
They made the call on the heels of the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) which has crippled healthcare delivery and access in public hospitals across the country.
The nurses made their demands known at a five-day “Train the Trainer’’ workshop under the National Surgical, Obstetric, Anaesthesia, and Nursing Plan for Nigeria (NSOANP) in partnership with Smile Train in Abuja on Thursday.
Mrs Olubunmi Lawal-Aiyedun, the former President, National Association of Nigerian Pediatric Nurses, said “people are dying; so many things are wrong with the health system.
“I call on government to do the needful, we need to change the narrative and call off the strike.’’
Lawal-Aiyedun, who said that doctors needed to be comfortable to be able to put in their best, added that “it is not easy putting your life on the line daily to ensure the health of others.
“In many hospitals, you find that one nurse is attached to about 30 to 40 patients. There is gross lack of adequate health professionals.’’
She, however, urged nurses to continue to put in their best in delivering a global standard of healthcare.
She said that nurses and midwives used flashlight to take deliveries in some Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs)
“And in some cases where a child is asphyxiated, that is, he or she cannot breathe and needs the aid of medical equipment, such tool is not available.
“In the past, the child is held with the head down and feet up and tapped on the back to get them to breathe
again.Unfortunately, several decades later, this is still being done because the infrastructure and enabling environment are not there.’’
Mrs Blessing Opara, the Assistant Director, Nursing, National Hospital, Abuja, said that the workshop was to freshen the knowledge of nurses in public hospitals to enable them to function optimally.
Opara also said that nurses were working under difficult conditions, saying “instead of nursing four patients, we nurse 20 or more in a shift.
“Manpower is the major challenge that nurses face in providing healthcare today.’’
Mrs Morayo Eboh, a Principal Nursing Officer at Defence Intelligence College, Karu, Abuja, said that the lack of modern equipment was another challenge nurses faced in supporting healthcare delivery.
Eboh, who is also a Critical Care Nurse, called for better communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals and for an end to the protocols that prevent the delivery of emergency healthcare to patients.
She said “you tend to see many nurses improvising due to the lack of medical equipment that should ordinarily be available in health facilities and so they are forced to do the best they can with what is available.
“Synergy and communication among professionals are important when rendering quality care to patients and reducing preventable deaths.
“The process of obtaining a folder during an emergency should be stepped down. I think if we break some of these protocols when it comes to quality care will reduce preventable deaths.’’
Mr Francis Obaje, a Theatre Nurse at Kogi State Specialists Hospital, Lokoja, urged nurses to communicate more with
patients “to change the perception that nurses are heartless and lack passion.
“Let us try to place ourselves in the position of the patients, empathise with them on how they feel, and the new environment they are forced to adjust to.’’
He said that the strike by NARD members had affected the capacity of the healthcare system to deliver care as surgeries among other critical services had reduced or stopped in some facilities.
Mrs Victoria Awazie, the Programme Manager, Smile Train West Africa, said that the workshop was the pilot phase of a collaboration between the organisation and NSOANP for nurses across the 36 states and the FCT.
She said that the training was part of a five-year plan to build the capacity of nurses to improve the quality of care in hospitals.
She added that “when patients come to hospital, their first contacts are nurses. The training will improve the knowledge of nurses on how to deal with patients.
“We are carrying out this training to address the occurrence of sentinel events, that is patients dying in the hospital when aftercare is being administered.
“The training will equip nurses to know what to do when doctors are not available.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in 2019, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) set up NSOANP with a five-year strategic plan to reduce out-of-pocket spending on surgical care by increasing financing.
The plan targets a 35-per cent coverage of surgical care and a health insurance coverage rate of 50 per cent by 2023.
With a 15-per cent increase in budgetary allocation to the health sector by 2023, the Federal Government hopes to strengthen the healthcare system through investment in surgical care to increase productivity.
The NSOANP training was held physically and virtually, with 24 participants in attendance, while about 200 nurses joined virtually. (NAN)
At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.
Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.
Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.
In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.
The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.
In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.
The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”
Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.
Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.
“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”
The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.
Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.
With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.
…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.
In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.
The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).
The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).
“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.
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