Doctors in Nigeria’s public hospitals began a five-day strike on Friday to protest unpaid allowances and unresolved welfare issues, according to the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). The union, which represents about 15,000 resident doctors, said the government has failed to release the 2025 medical residency training fund and clear salary arrears despite repeated negotiations.
Resident doctors, who make up the bulk of emergency ward staff, are considered the backbone of Nigeria’s public healthcare system. Their strike follows similar industrial action by nurses in July over pay and staffing shortages.
Nigeria’s doctors have long decried poor working conditions, with frequent walkouts — including three in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic — highlighting chronic underfunding in the nation’s health sector.
