Posted on: Tue 26-03-2024

Doctors, nurses, and Community Health Extension Workers under the Expanded Midwives Service Scheme have expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government for not paying their salaries despite giving them multiple assurances.

The health workers lamented that they were still being neglected despite being told that the issue was being prioritised.

PUNCH Healthwise had reported how the unpaid accumulated salaries and alleged ill-treatment from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and Sydani Group left the health workers traumatised, impoverished, and stranded.

The report with the headline, ‘How FG scheme for improved maternal, child health in rural areas, impoverished health workers’, was published on Sunday, March 17, 2024.

It chronicled how the health workers who work for long hours get little support from the government.

While some alleged that the NPHCDA owed them up to six months, others claimed to be owed two, three, and four months, respectively.

Many of them told PUNCH Healthwise that they were redeployed to rural areas, far from their homes, leaving behind loved ones and dependants.

They lamented that they struggle to make ends meet, with little or no pay coming in.

While noting that they are doing their best to serve the communities and by extension, Nigeria, the health workers said the lack of resources and support from the government has made their jobs difficult.

Reacting to the report, the Communications Adviser to the agency, Dr Abubakar Jimoh, promised that the payment would be made before the end of the week after the report was published.

However, PUNCH Healthwise learnt from the health workers that they have not been paid as promised, stressing that the delayed payment is inflicting significant hardship on them.

They expressed concern that the delayed payment is negatively impacting their ability to provide quality care for patients.

Speaking recently with our correspondent, Dr Nisai Buhari, a former employee with Shagari Primary Health Care Centre in Gusau, Zamfara State, said he resigned from his former place of work to take up the new employment with eMSS but has not been paid for three months.

With a pained expression, the medical doctor revealed that he was compelled to tell his wife to return to her parent’s home pending when he gets back on his feet.

“I started this job with so much passion and commitment to my duties. However, the reckless handling of our earned salaries by NPHCDA and Sydani group has left me seriously indebted.

“I have tried all possible ways to keep my family intact but because of the non-payment of my salary, I asked my wife to travel back home to live with her parents.

“This is the worst experience of my life and I don’t wish this on any human being. Sometimes I wonder how those holding our salaries feel so comfortable watching us face this type of serious financial crisis. Don’t they have families that they cater for?

“It’s not as if they pay as much as other hospitals available. While they pay N220,000, our state specialist hospital pays as much as N245,000 to medical officers, while the Federal Medical Centre pays about N300,000, but we still stay back to help improve maternal, newborn, and children health. We demand prompt payment of our salaries owed over the month.  We are also using this opportunity to call for improvement in the salary,” he said.

Also, a registered nurse deployed to Hwolshe PHC in Plateau State, Eunice Mariyom said she was unable to pay for her mum’s scheduled surgery because of the non-payment of her salary arrears.

While appealing to the NPHCDA to hasten with the payment as promised, she lamented that the FG owed her four months’ salary.

She said, “The non-payment of salary has caused me serious pain. After resigning from my job, I have not been paid for four months and this has led to the cancellation of my aged mother’s surgery could not undertake the surgery.

“I had to use my little savings to buy some drugs to stabilize her condition. I wake up every day and tell her I am going to a job that I can’t account for any savings.

“At a point, my mother asked me if I was truly working. I have sent emails to Sydani and NPHCDA. I also called and sent messages, but they never responded. However, they keep sending emails for clearance, which we have done and yet, they refused to pay us for our services.”

Another doctor deployed to Elelenwo PHC in Obio Akpor LGA, Rivers State, Dr Sarah Obari, decried the hardship the non-payment of the salary is inflicting on them.

Sad and full of regrets, she said, “The eMSS is an intervention programme by WHO and NPHCDA to help curb the high rate of maternal and child mortality and morbidity in Nigeria, but to us the employees, it is just an irony because we are just barely living the dream of achieving this goal as we have not been paid.

“We are worst hit by the hardship being felt across the country because we can’t even fend or provide basic needs for our families. Life itself is already difficult, so why do they have to add more stress to that of employees?

“It’s quite unfortunate that my colleagues and I under this scheme have to experience this as the cost of living is unbearable and the peanuts they agreed to pay by month end are being withheld.”

Also decrying the non-payment of arrears, another nurse, Medinah Afolabi said, “At Kogo Bello PHC, I put in all my best and I am proud that I do. I was able to resolve three infertility issues. So far, I have only received one month’s salary since October 2023 when I was engaged.

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