The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm on the high cases of maternal and infants’ mortality, lamenting that the trend has contributed largely to Nigeria being ranked as the worst place to give birth.
While highlighting the measures it has taken to curb the continuous death of mothers and children at birth, the NMA said Akwa Ibom was one of the worst states to practice in Nigeria.
The association’s chairman, Dr Anìekan Peter, Akwa Ibom earned the unenviable tag through its disdainful attitude for the welfare of its medical workers with some practitioners earning between N250,000 and N300,000 monthly salary.
Although the NMA said plans had been concluded to reduce the rate of maternity and child mortality ratio in the state, government’s insensitivity to the welfare of medical workers – remuneration and other allied incentives have combined to reduce the enthusiasm.
In an interview with journalists during the dinner night of the association’s 2025 annual general meeting (AGM) and scientific conference in Uyo, the state capital on Sunday, Peter asked for a 100 percent pay rise for medical practitioners in the state to mitigate their pains.
He said this was part of the resolutions at the AGM, which focused on the reduction of maternal and child mortality rates as well as the welfare of medical workers in the state.
The commissioner for Health, Dr. Ekem John, could not respond to repeated calls for his reaction, but a senior director in the ministry, who would not want his name in print, said the current administration is very sensitive to the healthcare needs of the people and had since its inception invest massively in repositioning the health with the best infrastructure and innovations in line with international best practices.
On the welfare of the medical workers, he recalled that “the governor has assured them of better welfare packages at different negotiation tables before the end of the last strike” and called on the aggrieved workers to be patient for the new package being considered to evolve.”
Peter said the AGM held under the theme, “Securing the Future of Medical Practice in Nigeria, Prioritising Welfare and Policy Reforms”, reviewed incidences of deaths among women during childbirth in the state and welfare of medical doctors in both private and public hospitals.
He said, “The key elements of this year’s AGM was reduction of maternal and child mortality in Akwa Ibom State.
“We felt that no woman should die because she wants to bring a life to the world; so we started moving around churches in the state, preaching the message of reducing maternal and child mortality.
“We implored the people to join the health insurance scheme of the state. We also sensitised the people on the availability of ambulance services for women who want to deliver at night or at any time, they should call the phone numbers for ambulance services that will convey them to hospitals,” Peter said.
The MMA said many people did not know that such services were available for pregnant women in the state, which necessitated the sensitisation of women in churches on how to use the ambulance service in the 31 local government areas.
“We realised from all the churches that the awareness of the ambulance service was very low. Therefore, the NMA has partnered with the state Ministry of Health to visit all the churches in the state throughout the 31 LGAs for this sensitisation. With time, we will send doctors who are also in the LGAs for the exercise,” he said.
On medical professionals’ welfare, he recalled that the state was known during the administration of former governor Godswill Akpabio for giving cars to medical doctors, regretting that such benefits had been expunged from the system.
“Akwa Ibom State government gave cars to medical doctors when Akpabio was the governor, but such incentives are no more. We are appealing to Governor Umo Eno to bring back those days, especially now that he has joined the same party with the Senate President.
“Akwa Ibom government should set up a committee to harmonise the salaries of doctors at Ibom Specialist Hospital urgently. We will soon issue an ultimatum to the government over poor conditions of service and salaries of sectors at Ibom Specialist Hospital.
“The same thing with St Luke Hospital, Annua managed by the Catholic Church. If the church cannot manage the hospital, they can hand it over to the government,” he said.
