On Friday, March 7, nurses in Anambra State, under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), gathered to protest the poor working conditions in government-owned health facilities.
The protest took place at the Nurses House in Okpuno, within the state capital, where nurses met with their state leadership to voice their concerns and urge them to bring these issues to the state government.
The nurses highlighted their dissatisfaction with the poor implementation of their salary structure, known as CONHESS, which they said remains the lowest among neighboring states. They also shared their struggles in their daily work, explaining how difficult it is to serve in such conditions.
“We have never been paid more than 60 percent of our salary, even with the current minimum wage increase,” the nurses said. “Some of us work in hospitals where there are over 80 patients in a ward meant for only 20 beds, making it very hard to do our jobs properly. And our hazard allowance is still just N3,000, even though it’s supposed to be N30,000.”
The group called on the state government, through the Commissioner for Health, to urgently address their concerns, as their working conditions continue to worsen.
Mrs. Edith Onwuka, the state chairperson of NANNM, reassured the nurses that their leadership would reach out to the state government to resolve these issues. She asked for patience from the group, explaining that a meeting with the relevant authorities had already been scheduled, with hopes that their concerns would be heard and acted upon soon.
