The chairman of the Akwa Ibom State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Aniekeme Aniefiok Uwah, has sent a passionate appeal to Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel of Akwa Akwa Ibom State to rescue the sector from imminent collapse.
Uwah who spoke on phone on Friday after the addressing the NMA 30th annual general meeting AGM and Scientific Conference in Uyo said the challenges facing the association were enormous and needed urgent attention to tackle them.
He said non-payment of salary arrears to his members on the employment of the state government for the past 14th months from September 2014 to date was crippling the health delivery system of the state.
The chairman called on the governor to immediately wade into the issues with a view to addressing them.
He said, “When a few of the challenges are addressed by the state government, it will go a long way in boosting the moral of our members and therefore put them in the right frame of mind and psyche to continue to render quality health care services”.
Uwah expressed appreciation to medical doctors in the employment of the state government for rendering quality medical services to the people despite the difficult working environment they found themselves.
However, he commended the state government for being proactive in the provision of N600million in the 2017 budget for the take off of the State Health Insurance Scheme Agency.
“Governor Udom Emmanuel has done extremely well in ensuring the passage of the bills for the establishment of Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Care Development Agency (AKSPHCDA) and Akwa Ibom State Health Insurance Scheme Agency (AKSHISA). There is greater need for the establishment of these agencies in the state,” he stated.
Efforts to get the reaction of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, as at press time was not successful as he did not pick his calls.
