May 13, (THEWILL) – On Friday, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) claimed that over 75,000 nurses and midwives migrated from Nigeria in the last five years due to poor wages and a lack of decent work environments.
NANNM also decried the lack of social protection, Insurance, inadequate compensation and other incentives for nurses and midwives, as well as the insecurity situation in the country, particularly the rising cases of the kidnap of its members for ransom, and violence against its members at the workplace while discharging their lawful duties.
Speaking at the flag-off of the 2023 International Nurses Day (IND) on Friday, in Abuja, its National President, Michael Ekuma Nnachi, said the profession was facing several challenges.
Nnachi lamented that “nurses work in high-stress environments, which can lead to burnout, poor service delivery, higher morbidity and mortality rates, and even mental challenges. ”
He also decried the deplorable state of infrastructure and lack of modem equipment and tools, which could affect their output.
“As a result of poor wages and lack of decent work environments, over 75,000 Nurses and Midwives have migrated from Nigeria within a period of five years.
“Shortage of Nurses and midwives, especially in certain areas of specialization and geographic region, the increased rates of attrition and a chronic shortage of nursing personnel in the country increased workloads on nurses without compensation, exposing them to more health hazards and compromising the quality of healthcare delivery”, said Nnachi.
Also speaking, the second Vice president of the association, Israel Blessing, said recent statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), revealed that Nigeria accounted for over 34 percent of global maternal deaths, while the lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, or after an abortion for a Nigerian woman is one in 22, compared to one in 4,900 in developed countries.
She noted that to address this, every pregnant woman should have access to a well-trained, caring midwife. By this, we would be much closer to a world where every childbirth is safe.
“The 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery report puts the midwives shortage in Nigeria at about 30,000 which is 6 per 10,000 people. To close the gap by 2030, about 70,000 midwives posts are needed but with current estimates, only 40,000 will be created by 2030. This shortage is particularly acute in Northern Nigeria, where essential maternal and reproductive health care needs are unmet.
“According to the UNFPA report, the world is short of 900,000 of these essential service providers. If this deficit is fixed, it could prevent two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths thereby saving more than 4.3 million lives a year by 2035.
“Midwives should be fully integrated into healthcare systems in the interest of improved maternal and child health in Nigeria”, she said.
On his part, Secretary General/Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Faruk Abubakar, said: “The nursing workforce is the world’s largest and biggest distinct profession in the healthcare industry, and it is germane in the delivery of the promise for health for all. This was the summation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2008.
“For the world to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), including Nigeria, the country must have the ability of the right nursing professionals at the right place, at the right time, and with the right skills to provide health services to secure the future of our populace.”
