Ubong Sampson – Uyo
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised concerns over the medical situation in the country, following the death of Dr. Chike Akunyili.
The late Akunyili, husband to late former NAFDAC DG, Dora Akunyili, was a medical doctor and a member of NMA who was reportedly shot dead by a group of unknown armed bandits.
In a statement signed by the association’s National Publicity Secretary, Aniekeme Uwah and made available to NigerDelta Searchlight, the NMA said the death of Chike at a time it claimed the country’s health care delivery system is bleeding due to the dearth of Medical Doctors and other health care workers as a result of the unprecedented brain drain currently facing the country, is a cause for deep concern.
According to the statement, the incidence is at a time the country’s Doctor:Patient ratio is abysmally at 1: 6000 as against the WHO’s recommended 1: 600, adding that it is an indication of a misplaced value system and less value for human lives.
“While the association awaits an official statement on investigations being conducted on the incidence by relevant security agencies, reports gathered from various news media indicate that this tragic incidence occurred while the victim was on his way from the commemorative lecture in honour of his late wife,Dora.
“The death of this highly skilled professional at a time the country’s health care delivery system is bleeding due to the dearth of Medical Doctors and other health care workers as a result of the unprecedented brain drain currently facing the country is a cause for deep concern.
“This condemnable incidence at a moment when the the country’s abysmally low Doctor: Patient ratio of 1: 6000 as against the WHO’s recommended 1: 600 is an indication of our misplaced value system as a people where human lives are not valued anymore.
Furthermore, the association seriously frowns at the incessant loss of lives by Nigerians due to the worsening insecurity in various parts of the country, which also has untoward effects on the health care delivery system.
“The death of Dr Chike J. Akunyili is indeed one death too many and we therefore call on the Federal and State governments in Nigeria to live up to their core constitutional responsibilities of protecting the lives and properties of all Nigerians”, the statement read.
While praying God to grant the family of the late Akunyili and the NMA body the fortitude to bear the loss, the association further urged the security agencies to do everything humanly possible to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book, so as to serve as a deterrent to others.
