Posted on: Sun 27-12-2020

To highlight critical contribution nurses and midwives make to global health, the World Health Assembly found it timely and apt to designate 2020 as the international Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. By this declaration, the WHO had the sole intention of calling on governments, countries and health institutions to urgently address the global shortfall of 9 million midwives and nurses. According to the WHO, the most acute shortages of nurses and midwives are in Africa and South East Asia

If Nigeria is to meet its SDG target of providing universal health coverage, it must as a matter of fact address the current shortage of nurses in Nigeria. Nigeria continues to grapple with death and dearth of Nurses due to legal migrations and as such we cannot afford to lose any single registered nurse over a radio interview.

Every Nigerian registered nurse is one building block that make up part of the cornerstone of the strong, resilient health systems needed to achieve universal health coverage. Whether in the community or hospital, every single Nurse is indispensable in their individual contributions to prescribing life-saving drugs, administering vaccines, providing family planning advice, and assuring expert care during childbirth

2020, The year of the Nurse was meant to highlight the need to invest in strengthening the Nursing workforce. In n many parts of Nigeria, there simply are not enough nurses and midwives to do all this work effectively. Even where they are present, many lack the power, training, equipment and medical supplies to deliver the basic health services we all need to live healthy lives. 2020 was supposed to be the year to change this. Terminating Nurse Abimbola’s employment over a radio interview depletes the same workforce we intended strengthening in the year of the Nurse.

2020 and the COVID19 Pandemic provided a global spotlight on nurses and opportunities to engage leaders to promote and speak up for nurses. This was supposed to be the year for Nurses to engage the media and get the attention of policy makers and politicians. The year of the Nurse encouraged us to get media coverage and pitch opinion piece which can stimulate debate and keep Nursing issues in the media. Nurse Ajibola does not deserve to be sacked for speaking to same media TYNM advocates.

In the spirit of commemorating the year of the Nurse and as an acknowledgement of the potential impact of the second wave of the COVID19 Pandemic for which all hands would be needed on deck, Nursingworld Nigeria lends her voice to call on the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital to review and rescind its decision to terminate the employment of Nurse Ajibola Aishat Oluwafunke.

 

Since her employment at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Nurse Ajibola Aishat Oluwafunke has kept an impeccable professional record and we urge the management to kindly take cognizance of this fact.

We call on the National leadership at the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives to stand by one of its own, Nurse Ajibola must not be sacrificed at the altar of administrative convenience over a radio interview

The Nigerian Nursing community must stand in solidarity with Ajibola. The backlash from keeping silent on this matter would set a dangerous precedent. The Online Nurses arise radio is a dedicated nursing radio that has provided a platform for nurses to speak up in this year of the Nurse, we must not be silenced. We must be heard.

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other. As unrelenting as the headwinds were, we are optimistic. Resilience is what defined 2020 and most importantly, it will be what takes us forward. We hope that this issue is resolved amicably with no recourse to a legal contest in the new year

Jude Chiedu

For: Nursingworld Nigeria

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