President of the association, Dr. Aliyu Sokomba, in a statement today, April 4, advised the Federal government to shelve the plan to invite the Chinese Medical team, adding that the government should instead, immediately engage all key relevant Nigerian medical experts including NARD.
According tom him, inviting the Chinese medical experts will portray the Federal Government as championing “illegality,” as all doctors coming into Nigeria are supposed to be licensed by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
Dr. Aliyu, who stressed that the Chinese medical experts have not been licensed to perform any job in the country, said: “attempt to import Human resources for Health from China into Nigeria where many qualified medical doctors and other cadres of health workers are yet to be gainfully employed, is the height of insensitivity and disservice on the part of the Federal Government and their advisers.
“The challenge at hand would have been sufficient marker to agitate the FG to the direction and timing for massive employment of medical and other health care workers to provide enough hands in the industry to battle the COVID 19 as other nations are doing.”
It would be recalled that the nation’s Minister for Health, Dr. Osagie Ohanire, yesterday, April 3, said that China is sending in more kits as well as doctors to support the government’s efforts in the fight against the virus.
“I have been notified of gifts of medical supplies from China, courtesy of a group of Chinese companies working here in Nigeria. A special cargo aircraft shall leave Nigeria in a few days to collect the items which include commodities, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and ventilators,” he said during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
The minister had said: “of great interest is that an 18-man team of medical experts, including doctors, nurses and public health advisers shall come along with the flight to assist us.”
Source: Channels Television.
