No fewer than 30 resident doctors were assaulted across Nigeria within the past year, underscoring growing concerns over the safety of healthcare workers in the country.
Figures obtained from the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) showed that at least 21 cases of attacks on healthcare personnel were reported nationwide during the period, with resident doctors accounting for about 30 of the victims.
The statistics also revealed a low rate of prosecution, with fewer than five of the reported cases making it to court and only one assailant successfully convicted.
According to the association, the trend suggests that a healthcare worker is assaulted approximately every two weeks in Nigeria, raising fresh concerns about violence in hospitals and other medical facilities.
“Available statistics before the association reveal that within the last year alone, no fewer than 21 cases of assaults on healthcare workers were reported across the country, with about 30 resident doctors directly affected,” the association stated.
“Shockingly, fewer than five cases were charged to court, while only one assailant has been convicted to date. What this simply means is that in Nigeria today, approximately every two weeks, another case of assault against a healthcare worker is recorded,” it added.
Medical practitioners have repeatedly raised concerns over increasing hostility and physical attacks from patients’ relatives and other members of the public, warning that the trend could further worsen the country’s healthcare challenges and contribute to the migration of professionals abroad.
