Doctors in Nigeria’s capital have begun a week-long warning strike, pressing for sweeping reforms in a health system they say is near collapse due to years of neglect.
The Association of Resident Doctors, FCT Administration (ARD-FCTA), said hospitals in the territory face dire shortages of staff and equipment, compounded by unpaid entitlements and poor working conditions.
Speaking in Abuja, ARD-FCTA president Dr George Ebong described doctors as “overstretched and burnt out,” adding that no fresh recruitment had taken place in the FCT health sector since 2011. He cited recent tragedies, including the death of a doctor in Port Harcourt and a nurse in Abaji, as reminders of the dangers frontline staff face.
The group urged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to declare a state of emergency in the 14 district and general hospitals under his administration.
“If, after seven days, the issues remain unresolved, we may be compelled to initiate indefinite industrial action,” Ebong said, stressing that the strike was aimed at reform, not disruption.
