MDCAN Suspends Planned Strike By 3 Months

Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has suspended its planned nationwide strike by three months following an appeal by the coordinating minister of health and social services, Muhammad Ali Pate.

This was part of the resolutions issued by MDCAN in its communique at the end of its 13th biennial delegates’ meeting held in Kano from 4th to 10th September 2023.

In the communique signed by the president, Prof Muhammad Aminu Muhammad and the Secretary General, Dr Daiyabu Alhaji Ibrahim said the extension of the ultimatum is to allow the government to address all the pending issues.

“In view of the appeal by the coordinating minister of health and social services, the association resolves to extend the ultimatum by three months to allow the new government to address all the pending issues” the communique says.

MDCAN had given the federal government a deadline of 21 days to fulfil the demands or face industrial unrest.

Some of the resolutions taken by the MDCAN include calling on the government to organize all the necessary stakeholders towards revitalization and revamping the nation’s healthcare system for the provision of affordable and accessible healthcare delivery in the country.

“The government is urged to, as a matter of urgency, provide holistic solutions to the challenges of brain drain which should include incentives that encourage retention of the already depleted healthcare human resource in the country.

“Concerted efforts should be made by the Government to motivate it’s available human resources for health in order to sustain and improve on the quality of undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainings in Nigeria.

“Critical stakeholders in medical education should work together to fashion sustainable pathways for improving the quality and quantity of the medical and dental graduates produced in the country.

“The association urges the governments at all levels to save medical education through provision of proved infrastructure, adequate funding and remuneration of the staff.

“Provision of advanced medical care is achievable in Nigeria through the adoption and optimization of the kidney and spine surgeries model of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano and National Orthopedic Hospital Dala,” part of the communique states.