COVID-19: JOHESU donates medical commodities, PPE to FG

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), has donated medical commodities, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth millions of Naira to the Federal Government as part of her contributions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The leadership of JOHESU, who presented the items to the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, in Abuja, also used the occasion to announce JOHESU’s decision to put on hold the planned strike action over the government failure to review the meagre N5,000 hazard allowance being paid to their members since 2009.

The Chairman of JOHESU, Josiah Biobelemoye, who led the team, said JOHESU presented hand sanitizers, Personal Protective Equipment and other items mostly needed by the health workers who are in the frontline of the battle to contain the spread of COVID-19, especially at the isolation centres.

Biobelemoye said: “We have decided that we should do this, we must get out of this just like the minister stated. All hands must be on deck. We must actually show that we are all in this together, because if we now decide to work apart, certainly, our concentration wouldn’t be enough to defeat this pandemic. So, it is on that ground that we have decided to do this.

“We are also saying that government should protect our members who are at the frontline. I think we also should support government to see that they protect our members. We are expecting that it should not escalate beyond this case.”

On the issue of manpower, the JOHESU chairman, said: “We still have enough man-power that we wouldn’t be stressed so sudden, because we have qualified doctors, qualified nurses, other health professionals like pharmacists, scientists and even the non-health related professionals are all set and we should all see this battle as one battle.”

He pointed out that JOHESU has been calling for the improvement of the health sector, and the need for the government to bringing to standards the public health institutions, and motivate the health sector workers.

Biobelemoye expressed the belief that the emergence of COVID-19 and the experience should make it very clear to the government to listen to them and address all the issues they have been agitating for and tackle it together.

On the issue of hazard allowance and their threat to go on strike, he said: “It is just a meagre N5,000 and that N5,000 has been there since 2009. This is COVID-19 period and we feel that we should be concentrating on the war, that is why I did not bring it up.

“We have not for any reason gone on strike because the hazards allowance is too meagre. But I want to say, even if not immediate, post-COVID-19 consideration should be that all the templates we have pushed forward, even hazard allowance that we have should be significantly reviewed because you can see if one is infected by this very COVID-19, death is so close except if detected early.”

He also kicked against the importation of Chinese health professionals to the country to help in the fight against COVID-19; saying, “to be candid, I want to speak the mind of JOHESU, every JOHESU member believes that we did not need the Chinese medical team that was brought in. If we were consulted, we would say we did not need the Chinese, because our health system has not been stressed to the point that we will need external help.”

The Health Minister, Dr. Ehanire commended JOHESU for the presentation and stressed the need for all to work together to win the battle against the pandemic.

The minister said: “They say little drops of water make a mighty ocean. This is one big drop of water which is going to contribute a lot, and as they said in their letter, this is an example to others who know that we need to put all our thoughts, all our efforts together in one place to be able to achieve our own objective.

“We want to thank JOHESU for this kind gesture. They are the second to present something like this to us for use in the battle against coronavirus.”

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