Stakeholders Push For Increased Investment In Nurses

For better health service delivery, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has called on the Nigerian Government to improve investment in Nurses and review hazard allowances.
The President of the Association, Comrade Micheal Nnachi made this call at a conference to mark the International Nurses and Midwives week in Abuja.
He explained that nurses in Nigeria are underpaid and undervalued despite the risks they face as health care workers.
Nursing, like all other professions, has its own hazards, especially in healthcare delivery institutions where nurses often mix and mingle with people carrying infectious diseases
He decried the level of insecurity and attacks nurses face in discharging their duties which has caused the migration of nurses to other countries leading to brain drain.
Comrade Nnachi however called for conducive work environment, welfare of nurses, proper implementation of grading for nurses in Nigeria, involve nurses in decision making processes and insurance coverage.
This he said would encourage nurses and midwives not to migrate for better and greener pastures.
He urged Nurses and midwives to adopt professional code of ethics to meet patient satisfaction and foster unity in their work place.
The Registrar Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr Farouk Abubakar, said the health sector has experienced a lot of gaps in recent times hence the need for adequate funding in the health sector.
He said the Council is concerned with the quality of nursing care and overall service delivery both at the Primary and tertiary health institutions, hence the council has developed various reform programs for improving quality of service delivery by nurses.
The chairman House committee on Health, Mr. Tanko Sununu called on Nigerian Nurses to invest in Capacity building programmes to meet international best practice.
Mr Sununu explained that the house has agreed to liaise with the associates to reach a better hazard allowance.