Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has asked federal and state governments to provide adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and all relevant approved guidelines for occupational safety of its members across health facilities in the country.
The Union said absence of personal protective equipment and non-implementation of required workplace safety by government could endanger their lives.
In a statement issued in Awka, Anambra State and signed by the State Chairperson, Mrs. Chinwe Orizu, the body said the call became necessary to ensure protection of its members as first responders in handling patients at this period of Coronavirus pandemic already declared global health emergence by the World Health Organization (WHO).
It blamed government for years of underfunding, lack of facilities and unavailability of Pharmaceutical products in the nation’s hospitals, expressing fears of government’s unpreparedness to curtail the spread of the virus.
The statement partly read, “We had drawn attention of governments within Nigeria to the crucial need to strengthen public health system. It is therefore gravely concerned that governments might not be adequately prepared to curtail the spread of COVID -19 pandemic in the unfolding period”
“We are now in a situation where decisive actions must be taken immediately and concrete commitments made to ensure that people’s health is not put in jeopardy by safeguarding public health system.”
Assuring the public of the preparedness of its members to do their best in providing health services, MHWUN urged governments to engage more health workers matched with proper motivation for enhanced productivity.
It further called for more COVID -19 testing kits across health facilities in the nation to facilitate free testing of the populace, reasoning that there could be more infected people than presently identified.
The Union also commiserated with governments and families across the globe who lost their citizens and dear ones to the deadly virus.
