ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) on Tuesday issued 21-day nationwide indefinite strike notice to the Federal Government despite commending some of the recent initiatives of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

NAMDA President, Dr Nosa Orhue, announced the strike ultimatum on Tuesday in Abuja after the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

However, Orhue commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for efforts to improve university education.

He also hailed the Minister of Education for supporting salary parity for medical academics.

He also lauded the Federal Government’s preparedness for a possible Ebola outbreak and pledged the association’s support toward strengthening the country’s public health response.

But the NAMDA President said members of the association would embark on nationwide, indefinite strike if the Federal Government failed to resolve outstanding remuneration and welfare concerns of its members in the next 21 days.

He said the union expected government to conclude negotiations within the period, warning that NEC would reconvene to determine its next line of action if talks failed.

According to him, NAMDA had engaged government through dialogue for more than 24 months without meaningful progress.

Orhue said the association was dissatisfied that negotiations on the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement had remained stalled since April 9, in spite of repeated engagements.

He alleged that while improved welfare packages had been implemented for other university unions, NAMDA members remained excluded, resulting in non-payment of earned academic and professorial allowances and worsening brain drain among medical academics.

The NAMDA president attributed the dispute largely to salary disparities between university-based medical lecturers and hospital consultants performing identical professional duties.

He explained that medical academics combine teaching, research and clinical responsibilities, including patient care, surgeries and hospital administration.

According to him, they earn less than their counterparts in the hospital system despite maintaining the same professional qualifications and practicing licenses.

Orhue said the Federal Government had previously recognised the unique status of medical academics through their placement on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

The NAMDA President added that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had supported salary parity and communicated the position to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

He, however, alleged that some government agencies were frustrating implementation of the agreement.

Orhue reaffirmed that the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) remained the only acceptable salary framework for medical and dental academics.

He warned that any attempt to replace it with another structure could trigger industrial action.

He also rejected what he described as the forced migration of members of NAMDA above 65 years from CONMESS to the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS).

According to him, the move amounts to a demotion and results in financial losses for affected academics.

He said the association was also demanding implementation of special pension benefits for retired hospital-based academics and opposed the National Universities Commission’s requirement for medical academics to obtain PhD qualifications.

(NAN)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

A couple who were told by fertility specialists that they would most likely never conceive naturally have celebrated the birth of triplets, describing the children as nothing short of miraculous.

Marina and Bishoy Salib, a married couple from England, said they were left heartbroken in 2024 after doctors informed them that their chances of having biological children together were extremely slim. Despite the discouraging prognosis, they refused to give up hope. Just over a year later, they welcomed three healthy babies.

Their extraordinary journey began after months of unsuccessful attempts to start a family. Seeking medical advice, Marina, now 30, underwent an Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) test in August 2024. The test measures the level of anti-Müllerian hormone in the body, which is commonly used as an indicator of a woman’s ovarian reserve, or the number of eggs remaining.

According to the results, Marina had a significantly diminished ovarian reserve, leading specialists to conclude that natural conception would be highly unlikely.

Speaking in an interview with SWNS, Bishoy, 33, recalled the devastating consultation.

“They told us that my wife couldn’t get pregnant,” he said. “When we saw the fertility specialist, he made it clear that there was no chance for her to conceive naturally.”

The diagnosis deeply affected Marina, who struggled emotionally with the news.

Bishoy said watching his wife cope with the disappointment was one of the most difficult periods of their marriage.

“She was heartbroken and cried a lot. She kept asking herself why she couldn’t have children,” he said.

Although medical professionals suggested using an egg donor as the most realistic option for pregnancy, the couple said the recommendation conflicted with their deeply held religious beliefs as members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

“I told the specialist that we are Christians and we believe in miracles,” Bishoy explained. “Even our general practitioner repeated that egg donation was the only possible route, but we remained committed to our faith.”

While remaining open to adoption if necessary, the couple continued praying and hoping for a miracle while trying to conceive naturally.

Their persistence paid off unexpectedly on May 19, 2025.

According to Bishoy, he felt an unexplained urge to ask Marina to take a pregnancy test, even though both of them believed the outcome would be negative.

“She looked at me and asked why she should even bother taking the test after being told she wasn’t producing enough eggs,” he recalled. “Honestly, I still don’t know why I insisted.”

To their amazement, the test came back positive.

Marina was overwhelmed with emotion, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“She couldn’t even stand. She was shaking, laughing and crying at the same time,” Bishoy said.

Still convinced there had been a mistake, Marina reportedly took several more pregnancy tests to confirm the result before finally calling her husband to share the life-changing news.

The surprises did not end there.

During a subsequent hospital appointment, doctors informed the couple that they were not expecting one baby, but three.

On November 28, 2025, Marina gave birth to non-identical triplets a daughter named Miracle and two sons, Levi and Suriel.

Looking back on their remarkable journey, Bishoy said the children are a constant reminder that hope can endure even in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances.

The couple now describe their son and daughter as their “miracles,” saying their experience has strengthened both their faith and appreciation for parenthood after overcoming what once appeared to be insurmountable odds.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Ebola epidemic has claimed more than 300 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a little over one month after it was declared, health authorities said on Friday.

The deadly viral disease, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids, can cause severe bleeding and organ failure.

A total of 304 people in the DRC have now died of the virus, from 1,115 confirmed infections since the outbreak was detected on May 15, giving a mortality rate of 26.3 percent, the National Public Health Institute (INSP) said.

This is a jump from the 202 deaths confirmed on June 18 by the African Union’s health agency, from 875 confirmed infections — a mortality rate of 23 percent.

The Red Cross warned last week that the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever has yet to peak and could take up to a year to contain.

In some rare good news, the DRC authorities announced in early June that several Ebola patients had been treated and cured.

Responders to the epidemic, the 17th to hit the vast, unstable central African country, face towering challenges.

No approved vaccines or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the latest outbreak to hit the DRC, which is one of the world’s poorest countries.

The three affected provinces in eastern DRC — Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu — have been plagued for three decades by conflict and mass displacement, complicating the response.

The outbreak has spread to neighbouring Uganda, where containment measures have been effective.

Kampala has reported 20 confirmed cases nationwide, including two deaths since May 15. Most of those infected are Congolese nationals who have travelled to Uganda.

On Wednesday, France reported the outbreak’s first confirmed case of Ebola outside Africa — a Congolese doctor who was working in the DRC for the international medical aid NGO ALIMA.

The World Health Organization says there is minimal risk of the virus spreading in Europe and there is no need for travel restrictions.

Air France, on which the doctor flew back to France, has nevertheless suspended all flights to Kinshasa for several days.

– Ituri –

The vast majority of cases in the DRC have been detected in Ituri.

The mineral-rich province is plagued with unrest from a string of rival armed groups, and frequent population movements favour the spread of the disease.

More than 91 percent of all infections have been registered in the provincial capital, Bunia, and more than 82 percent of all deaths.

Efforts to contain the virus have been ratcheted up in Ituri.

But healthcare facilities -– which often operate with limited resources — still lack basic equipment and supplies, such as personal protective equipment and chlorine.

Many clinics set up by the WHO and aid agencies are close to full, the country’s public health agency said.

At least 78 healthcare workers have been infected with the virus, and 18 have died, it added.

Medical and aid workers also have to contend with deep mistrust from some local communities.

Some families have demanded that hospitals hand over the bodies of the deceased, not realising that touching the body puts them at risk of contamination.

The reluctance of some families to allow post-mortem examinations on the victims is also leading to an underestimation of the number of cases, officials said.

AFP