The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has rejected the federal government’s proposed invitation of an 18-man Chinese medical team to support the country’s fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19).
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The NMA President, Francis Faduyile, in a statement, Sunday, said that the move is a misplaced priority, describing it as an embarrassment to the membership of the Association and other health workers who are giving their best in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic under deplorable working conditions.
Criticism has since greeted the planned invitation of the team of Chinese medical experts following the announcement on Friday by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, had advised the federal government against the plan, saying it was unnecessary to invite Chinese doctors as Nigeria was already handling the crisis effectively.
However, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Garba Abari, further clarified the reasons behind the proposed visit on Saturday.
He stated that the Chinese medical team were only coming to share experiences with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and not to directly take charge of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
According to him, they will be sharing experiences on how the pandemic was handled in China and giving expert suggestions to our medical teams.
The official noted: “Whatever information the Chinese medical team makes available to NCDC will be filtered and applied to address the peculiar challenges of the country on handling the COVID-19 scourge.
“This is a global pandemic and from wherever assistance comes, you cannot reject it.”
The clarification, however, did not stop Nigerian doctors from opposing the plan as NMA’s president, rejecting the invitation, said that the government in arriving at the decision did not take into consideration the extant laws regulating the practice of medicine in Nigeria as enshrined in the Medical and Dental Council Act.
“This is one such circumstance where the Medical and Dental Council of Nigerian should be consulted to grant necessary approvals to foreigners to interact with Nigerian patients,” Mr Faduyile explained.
