The Federal Government and the leadership of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) have convened a closed-door meeting to address pressing concerns within the nursing sector, as the nationwide strike by the medical practitioners enters its fourth day.
The meeting aims to find common ground on issues including welfare, working conditions, and institutional reforms, challenges that have severely impacted healthcare delivery across the country.
The meeting held in Abuja, was presided over by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, and attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The session marked the first high-level intervention by the health minister since the strike began, triggered by long-standing grievances over poor working conditions.
The nurses, under the umbrella of NANNM, embarked on a seven-day warning strike on Monday, July 29, following the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on July 14.
Their demands include the full implementation of the revised 2016 Nurses’ Scheme of Service, payment of outstanding shift and hazard allowances, creation of a distinct salary structure, recruitment of additional nursing staff, and the establishment of a Directorate of Nursing Services within the Federal Ministry of Health.
Previous attempts to resolve the dispute stalled, with union leaders walking out of a meeting convened by the Minister of Labour due to the absence of key decision-makers, including the Health Minister and the Head of the Civil Service.
While Friday’s meeting ended without an official press briefing, sources within the Health Ministry said discussions focused on immediate steps the government could take to address the most urgent issues raised by the union, as well as setting a timeline for broader reforms.
Meanwhile, hospitals across the country remain overstretched, with many operating at minimal capacity due to the absence of nurses.
In several federal health facilities, doctors and interns have had to assume basic nursing duties, while critically ill patients are being redirected to private clinics for care.
Union officials have warned that if their demands are not met by the end of the warning strike on August 5, they will have no choice but to declare an indefinite nationwide strike.
The Federal Government had earlier introduced a new National Industrial Relations Policy aimed at improving labour relations and reducing industrial unrest.
However, the ongoing strike has renewed focus on unresolved structural and welfare challenges in Nigeria’s public health sector, including the continuous emigration of trained nurses.
As talks continue, stakeholders remain hopeful that the renewed engagement between the government and the nurses’ union will result in a resolution that prevents a prolonged shutdown of the country’s already burdened healthcare system.
