Posted on: Thu 02-10-2025

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has directed its members nationwide to stop taking call duties that extend beyond 24 hours, effective October 1, 2025.

 

The directive followed resolutions reached at the association’s Annual General Meeting and was contained in a statement jointly signed by NARD President Dr Mohammad Usman Suleiman, Secretary-General Dr Shuaibu Ibrahim, and Publicity Secretary Dr Abdulmajeed Yahya Ibrahim.

 

According to the association, prolonged call duty of over 24 hours has become a “silent killer,” pushing young doctors into burnout, medical errors, and in some cases, death.

 

NARD highlighted that Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio remains one of the worst globally. While the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends one doctor per 600 patients, Nigeria has only about 11,000 resident doctors serving more than 240 million citizens — translating to a ratio of 1 doctor to 9,083 patients.

 

The statement noted that Nigerian resident doctors currently work an average of 106 hours weekly, with surgical residents exceeding 122 hours, meaning many spend four to five days weekly on call duty.

 

“To this end, the Annual General Meeting of NARD hereby directs that, with effect from October 1, 2025, all resident doctors across the country shall cease taking continuous calls beyond a twenty-four-hour period. There must be a call-free period after every call,” the statement read.

 

The association urged the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Health, to ease the heavy workload on doctors by adopting a one-to-one replacement policy and by strictly regulating call hours.

 

As Nigeria celebrates its 65th Independence Anniversary, NARD called on the government to reflect on the sacrifices of medical professionals and take decisive steps to prevent avoidable deaths.

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