A coordinated strike by the National Professional Doctors’ Association (NPDA) has shut down roughly half of Nigeria’s public health facilities, sending shockwaves through Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and other major cities. The strike, which began on 3 April, is part of a 42‑billion‑naira battle over salaries, staffing, and infrastructure that has left patients stranded on beds and emergency departments at zero capacity.
A Restrained but Ruthless Stand‑Off The NPDA, representing over 41,000 doctors across the country, announced its strike “in light of continued non‑payment of contractual salaries and the imminent threat to basic health infrastructure”. In an opening statement published on its social media channels, the union demanded a 30 % salary hike within six months, the procurement of essential equipment for all district hospitals, and a formal audit of health budgets by the Independent Nigeria Health Board. The strike’s immediate effect was stark: Telecommunication companies flagged disrupted hospital lines, while the nursing associations voiced their concerns on the same networks. An estimated 314 public hospitals (out of 634 nationwide) closed temporarily, while private and faith‑based facilities tried, in most cases, to stay operational. While the NPDA called for “peaceful engagement,” governments rolled out policing and crowds control, blocking entrances to several teaching hospitals such as Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan. Alvarez, a senior surgeon from Lagos, said, “The no‑strike signposts mean patients will no longer have a doctor to treat them. Emergency surgeries are being postponed. Lives are at risk.”
Geography of Idle Beds Lagos: The city’s busiest hospitals – the National Hospital Abuja’s outer wing, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital – have been “suspended” for 48 hours straight. An informal tally from the Lagos Emergency Medical Services (LEMS) shows only thirty doctors were on site, many retired or temporarily assigned to other duties, for urgent cases. Kano: In a stark case, the Kano State Referral Hospital has been fully shut, leaving the city’s 96,000 residents with no public medical facility in their catchment area. Elderly patients, particularly those in the “homecare” program, have had to travel an average of 70 kilometres to reach the nearest operational hospital in Katsina. Ibadan: St. Mary’s Hospital and UCH have reported “critical shortages” of staff. “We have to allocate doctors to the emergency department only, while the rest of the wards are on standby,” intoned Dr. Oluwafemi Akinwande from UCH, who stated that 35 per cent of the full capacity of ICU beds have been abandoned. Port Harcourt: The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, the biggest tertiary referral centre in the Niger Delta, has closed “temporarily for a negotiated settlement.” The local government has urged patients to seek care at the Ministry of Health’s temporary clinics. **Other Regions: By midnight of 5 April, the national health ministry confirmed that 158 districts had two or fewer physicians on call – a figure that is 4 % less than the WHO recommended ratio of one doctor per 1,000 population. Rural districts in northeast Nigeria, already suffering from a chronic garrison of health workers, were suddenly left with only skeleton crews.
Shadow of Numbers According to the NPDA’s strike‑day survey: | Region | Total Regular Public Hospitals | Closed % | Doctor-to-Patient Ratio (before) | Doctor-to-Patient Ratio (after) | |——–|——————————–|———-|————————————|———————————| | South | 293 | 38 % | 1 : 9,800 | 1 : 15,500 | | North | 125 | 52 % | 1 : 10,500 | 1 : 20,000 | | Total | 418 | 50 % | 1 : 10,200 | 1 : 17,800 | | Total Nigeria | 634 | 50 % | 1 : 10,200 | 1 : 17,800 | Classified figures, the Association reported from internal calculations, indicate a 27 % increase in the number of patients waiting at the front doors for a physician, while many death‑certificates issued on 5 April are expected to spike in the coming quarter.
Strike’s Underlying Causes The NDA has floated concerns that “salaries have not been paid for the last fiscal year” and that the 2014 and 2018 agreements on doctor remuneration have been ignored. The NPDA’s voice calls for comprehensive inquiry into the recurrent delays in pension payments, was further compounded by allegations of corruption in the Nigerian Medical Academy’s procurement of surgical stalls. Minister of Health, Dr. Maria Suleiman, told Reuters in a statement: “We recognise that the health sector demands attention, but operational confidentiality prohibits us from disclosing the details of contractual non‑compliance. We remain committed to negotiating a fair agreement for our doctors.” The Nigeria Nurses and Midwives Union (NNMU), with 77 % of the nurses’ Sectoral Nationals, declared a support‑strike concurrently. “Our draconian telephone call rates and inadequate resuscitation supplies challenge us to continue,” wrote NNMU president Engr. Folayode Bello.
Patients’ Cry Public sentiment is clear. A woman in Enugu after her 62‑year‑old father died in a rural clinic said: “We were already worried about transport. The doctors’ strike meant that we couldn’t see anyone about his heart complaint. We had to wait until Saturday with no choice but to go back home.” In Lagos, social media groups have formed “Doctors Not Bound” petitions, gathering over 120,000 signatures on Google Drive support. The name asked for “peaceful engagement and an immediate remuneration solution”. The fill‑in forms typed “we will walk, if we have to”. Furthermore, the National Civil Liberties Organisation (NCLO) asked the government to “protect the right to emergency medical care while the strike persists.”
Government Response An emergency cabinet meeting on 4 April called for a “temporary bridge‑contract’’ for physicians present in major hospitals to fill in gaps. The National Health Foundation announced a 20‑million‑naira emergency fund allocation to doctors in the first strike‑affected state, followed by a federal judicial committee to investigate possible malpractices in the health ministry’s payroll. All domestic airlines reportedly halted any planned trips for health workers to circumvent “contractual disputes.” State governors engaged the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce to lobby the NPDA to meet part of the demand within 5 days. In the state of Kano, Governor Usman Ghumbe launched a “try‑and‑treat” campaign because of the shortage of physicians. In addition, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the NPDA’s case for non‑payment of salaries. The case with the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be heard by 28 June.
Outlook While the health ministry provides a daily briefing on hospital‐usage metrics, it claims that “temporary clinics and private hospitals have increased patient capacity by 25 %”. Nonetheless, the long‑term repercussions could stretch the fragile system. Analysts estimate a 12‑month increase in out‑of‑hospital deaths, especially for patients needing urgent surgical procedures. If a settlement is reached, care will gradually revive. Until then, the 500‑day strike continues to loom over the nation’s cardiothoracic, obstetric, and trauma corridors.
The Bigger Picture This strike is a reacquaintance with the country’s history of health‑sector unrest. Nigeria’s last major medical strike lasted 74 days in 2009, setting a record for prolonged disruption that costs millions of dollars in lost productivity and reduced life expectancy. Current activists argue that while the NPDA’s demands are legitimate, a “minimum health care target” should guide negotiations, with the government’s payment “to cover baseline national targets”. The colonial heritage in public medicine leaves many professionals disillusioned. The future scenario remains: will the government follow the precedent of giving most 400‑naira “medical allowance” to doctors, or will it create a permanent tax on the medical industry to address infrastructural deficits? Until the strike resolves, patients across Nigeria will listen to their plight, but the “sick of the sick” surge will most likely stay underground, hoping for common decency to pay the wages of those who save lives.