Buhari Takes Medical Trip To U.K  2 Days To Doctors Strike

Buhari Takes Medical Trip To U.K  2 Days To Doctors Strike

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has travelled to London for a “routine” medical check-up two days to doctors strike over unpaid salaries.

Buhari, 78, left the country Tuesday after meeting with the security chiefs, the trip will last until the second week of April.

It’s Mr. President’s first medical trip abroad since the pandemic, which stripped much of Africa’s elite of the option of flying to the U.K., France or India to see a doctor.

While Mr. President consults with doctors in London, millions in Africa’s most populous country will be left without access to medical treatment from April 1, when doctors will go on strike.

They’re complaining about the non-payment of medical interns for months and demanding an upward review of hazard allowances and Covid-19 care incentives, according to a statement issued by the National Association of Resident Doctors NARD on March 29.

The Communique Issued At The Extraordinary NEC 28.03.2021. @MBuhari @DrAhmadLawan @femigbaja @Fmohnigeria @LabourMinNG Total and Indefinite Strike Commence on April 1st 2021 from 8AM. pic.twitter.com/otcSm9XIp6

— NARD NIGERIA (@nard_nigeria) March 28, 2021

Nigerians have for decades suffered from an inadequately funded health-care system, squalid clinics and hospitals, and poorly paid and overworked health care workers who frequently move abroad for employment.

There are at least 8,178 medical doctors of Nigerian origin working in the U.K., according to data on the U.K. General Medical Council website, a more 50% increase from 2015.

The exodus has worsened health care in a country that has one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the Nigeria Medical Association.

iexclusivenews and Bloomberg