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Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) says it has lost sixteen of it’s members to COVID-19 for the past eight months since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Kwara State, NMA Chairman, Prof Baba Issa, disclosed this today during a Press Conference organised to mark the 2020 Physician’s Week held in Ilorin.
Professor Baba Isa noted that Nigeria in the past eight months has had a fair of the disease and has battled relentlessly to contain the rising cases of the infection, affecting every state in the nation.
He explained that as at eight of October, there were One thousand and thirty one doctors who were exposed to the virus in Nigeria and three hundred and twenty one confirmed cases, expressing sadness that over mortality rate of four point nine- eight percent of the association members were lost in the battle to save the lives of Nigerians.
Professor lssa condemned the kidnapping and killing of doctors and other health workers by insurgents and therefore urged the Federal government to do all in its power to rescue those in captivity while ensuring the security and safety of other health workers as well as all Nigerians.
Professor lssa observed that there is need for Nigeria to prioritize the health sector and allocate adequate resources,saying that Nigeria’s allocation to health in 2020 was a mere four point six percent of the budget, urging the Nigerian government to adequately invest in the health care system .
The kwara NMA Chairman also charged all Nigerians to continue to be vigilant and maintain the COVID-19 guidelines especially now that Nigeria appears to be flattening the curve amidst rate of new infections.
