Nigeria’s doctors stage 5-day walk out

Doctors in Nigeria’s public hospitals have kicked off a 5-day strike on Wednesday leaving many without healthcare.

The medical professionals demand better conditions, higher salaries and the payment of arrears owed to some doctors.

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors also demands more investment in public facilities.

Medical residents make up the bulk of health care workers in Nigerian government hospitals.

Critics point to the vast disparity between public hospitals treating most Nigerians and the medical care abroad that is available to the country’s elite, including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who often travels to the UK for medical care.

Amid Nigeria’s current economic crisis, in April, doctors threatened to go on strike. The warning strike could now be extended if talks with the government fail to improve.

By Africanews