LAGOS DOCTORS ARE STRATEGIC AND CRUCIAL TO NIGERIAN HEALTH SYSTEM – ARD CMUL/LUTH

The Association of Resident Doctors for the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH – ARD) in the past week celebrated their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and health week in grand style. The program kicked off on Friday 8th of December, 2017 with a Jumat service at the LUTH mosque, followed by a “Cardiovascular walk” from the hospital to the National stadium on Saturday the 9th; which was an awareness campaign for the public and exercise for the participants of the walk. On the 11th was the medical and dental outreach to Makoko in yaba, where about 500 people participated in free health services. Also, still in the spirit of giving back to the society, the fourth day of the healthweek, 12th of December, 2017 was the Blood donation drive which recorded about 50 people coming out to donate blood freely and give life.

At the scientific conference held at the Old Great Hall, CMUL on Wednesday the 13th of December, 2017 which was the climax of the event; the speakers on the theme of the AGM – The Role of Private Sector in Revamping Health Care in Nigeria – and also the subthemes, elaborated extensively on the issue, sharing with their audience different opinions, trials, problems in the public and private health sector and the available ways forward. One of the speakers, Dr Mohammed Askira, a past National ARD President did a liberal break down on the state of public health care service in Nigeria; where at the nation’s best healthy state, if only 25% of the “sick” population – which is 1.25% of the “whole” population – need hospital admission to be cared for at a particular time, “90%” of these sick people (approx 2 million people of 180 million) will still end up being left to “die”, as all the bed spaces in “all government institutions and hospital” across Nigeria is not up to 250,000 bedspaces. He also stated that, “…the state of health of the people is the state of health of the economy… Lagos is strategic for the Universal Health Coverage… if Lagos Doctors are sick politically, then the health care system in Nigeria is sick…” as solutions available include unity of purpose by health care professionals and vast political representation to write the laws and govern the policies. Dr Ohen Geofery – Consultant and Vice Chairman, Eko Hospital Board – one of the speakers likewise encouraged doctors to give service first and reward will follow, while the NMA Lagos Chairman reiterated on the crucial role of the doctor and awards were presented to guests and speakers by Dr Adebayo Sekunmade, the LUTH ARD President.

The election for the new incoming administration was held on the 14th of December, 2017 at Hall 36, CMUL. The program continued the following day – 15th – with the Dinner And Awards Night were the newly elected president – Dr Olawale Oba, an Obstetrician and gynaecologist – and his led executives were sworn in while the final Thanksgiving was at the Chapel of Transfiguration, LUTH on Sunday, 17th of December, 2017. A lot was done differently and in glamorous style for this year’s ARD AGM, and this can be attributed to the core involvement of many medical and dental students in the planning and participation in the health week – shining the association in a new limelight and taking ARD LUTH to another level.

Adeyemi Omokehinde Joel, a 300L MBBS student who was one of the participants in the blood donation drive and other programs, had the following to say, “Well being my first time donating blood, I was anxious but it was worth the struggle – thinking of how that single act will go a long way in putting smiles in families and I hope other associations will emulate this by encouraging their members to also donate blood to the blood bank”.