A member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Lukman Atobatele, has called for an increment in the salaries of health workers in the country.
Atobatele, representing Abeokuta South State Constituency 1, noted that the nation’s health sector also needs adequate funding to end the narrative of health workers relocating abroad for greener pastures.
He stated this while speaking with newsmen over the weekend at the flag-off of a medical intervention programme
organised by his foundation, the Atobatele Lukman Foundation in Abeokuta.
The Atobatele Lukman Foundation gave free medical intervention to over 1000 patients in the state capital, ranging from eye care to dental clinics and surgery, including free drugs and eyeglasses, with over 40 doctors and nurses from the US administering the treatments.
Atobatele stated that his foundation considered the intervention as important because many Nigerians cannot access healthcare because of a lack of financial capability.
He called on the government: “We urge the government to pump money into the health sector. If the government pumps money into the sector, the issues we have with health will drastically decrease.
He added, “In broad terms, registered nurses earn as much as one thousand dollars a day. government should please increase their salaries. You cannot expect them to work well when they are not well paid. This is why many of them are running abroad.”
The Head of the Medical Team for the outreach, Dr Fadeyi Olatunbosun, disclosed that through the initiative, Hon. Atobatele is supporting the government in promoting the wellness of the citizenry.
He said, “Government cannot do it all; that is why Hon. Atobatele, through his foundation, is doing this. I want the government to support initiatives like this.
“We have people with diabetes, eye problems, dental problems, and hernias. We have a powerful medical team here, we have a team from the United States; we have a team from Federal Medical Centre (FMC) and we have a team from a private institution. ”
One of the beneficiaries of the Lukman Atobatele Foundation received attention during the outreach.
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