Ripples Nigeria Person of the Year: Nigeria’s Health Workers

2020 was a truly eventful year. It is a year that will definitely live in the memories of many for a long time to come. For many parts of the world, politics, natural disasters, the economy, conflict, and of course public health crisis epitomized by the coronavirus pandemic, were the defining features of the year.

The coronavirus was the standout issue for virtually every part of the world in 2020, understandably so. It is the greatest public health crisis in a century. Taking the world by storm, it has disrupted our way of life, cutting off countries, communities and people, sending the economy into a tailspin, and leaving hundreds of thousands of dead bodies—nay, about two million dead bodies— in its wake.

So far, over 85 million people have contracted the virus, and 1.8 million people and counting have been killed by it. 2020, from its early part up to its very end, was shaken and defined by the virus.

For Nigeria, apart from the pandemic, there were at least two other standout issues in 2020. The #EndSARS protests and widespread insecurity also significantly defined the year.

Young people, fed up with the brutal reign of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force, took the streets across the nation to demand change. It was not the usual protest. It was a movement. A near-irrepressible movement. The youths literally shut down the country, forcing a government known for its non-responsiveness and defiance to panic and yield. It was a true show of bravery by ordinary, mostly self-led young people who rose up in defence of their rights even in the face of violent response by forces of state.

Sadly, widespread violence followed the protests, claiming lives and properties. It was a true horror. The country was gripped by palpable fear and was left to reel from the pain of the losses. And all this happened while the country was still battling the scourge of the virus. It was as if Nigeria was confronted with a tough battle for its soul on the one hand, while on a battle for the lives of its people on the other. It was tough, and was indeed a truly defining period.

Insecurity was also a very major issue. The escalation of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency caused great panic and pain. Lives were cut short and communities groaned under the weight of brutal terror. Communities especially in the North-West and North-East were regularly in the news for having suffered one attack after another. It was a truly dark year for them; deaths, injuries and financial losses—due to ransom payments and inability to work at their farms, markets and other places of business.

The Ripples Nigeria Person of the Year could arguably have emerged from any of the defining events of Nigeria’s 2020. But in our careful judgment, the coronavirus pandemic was the most defining event of 2020, presenting us with a clear standout person of the year—Health Workers—for good reasons.

Nigeria’s health sector is seriously challenged. Underfunded, under-equipped, poorly administered, and susceptible to massive brain drain, it has continued to be a source of great discomfort and needless deaths for many a Nigerian. It witnesses strike action by its health workers ever so often, attracting mostly condemnation and a tepid, token response at best by the government instead of an actual solution. This cycle of failure has mostly continued uninterrupted, save for occasional sprinkles of minuscule changes.

So, it is within this context of colossal systemic failure that Nigeria’s health workers had to rise in service of their nation in the face of the greatest public health crisis in a century. They had been highly successful in their contribution to Nigeria’s management of the Ebola epidemic in 2014, attracting global acclaim for their exemplary approach and sacrifice. The sacrifice and honourable service were epitomized by the late Dr Stella Adadevoh who laid down her life to prevent the spread of the virus in the country. She stands highly honoured in the souls of millions of Nigerians who owe her eternal gratitude for her selfless, and sadly, ultimate sacrifice.

But the coronavirus pandemic had a worse prognosis. The projections were terrifyingly grim. And the health workers knew that hardly anything they had experienced prepared them for the new crisis. The reality has not been far from the projections. So far, there have been over 90,000 cases of the virus recorded in Nigeria, and over 1,300 deaths, many of them health workers who have been on the frontline of combating the virus.

Read also: COVID-19: Health workers call for uniform directive on movement restriction, vow to stay at home

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), little-known before the onset of the virus, became a daily fixture in our national consciousness. The initial steps to create the centre as a stand-alone agency started in 2011, culminating in the signing of the 2018 bill of an act to establish the NCDC by President Muhammadu Buhari. Prior to that, the president had in 2016 appointed Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, a respected doctor whose accomplished track record in combating communicable diseases spans professional service in the UK, Germany and South Africa.

Dr Ihekweazu and his team have battled to create the institutional structure for response to the pandemic, setting up laboratories under tight circumstances in different states of the country in the middle of the health crisis. He and his team have undertaken research, development and issuance of guidelines as new facts emerged, and carried out strategic intervention in concert with federal and state governments, international agencies and the private sector. It has been one huge multi-tiered operation that has largely been deemed successful. For example, the NCDC’s active travel protocols at the nation’s airports especially for international travellers have been cited by foreign travellers and media as being more serious and effective than protocols in some airports in Europe and America. Only a few days ago, a 6-month travel ban on about 100 travellers was issued over the flouting of these protocols; tough, stringent and almost unprecedented, the world over.

The NCDC insisting on a strict lockdown may have indeed paid off. Although not entirely complied with, it was generally implemented. Nigeria, unlike many countries abroad, may have indeed stemmed the tide of the virus early on, limiting its reach. Together with the lockdown, massive publicity on the virus, national mask mandate, and crowd management guidelines were issued and updated as facts on the ground and around the virus changed.

The NCDC and health workers around the country have not only had to combat age-long systemic challenges and a new perplexing virus, they have also had to contend with the resistance of sections of the population. Cultural and religious beliefs have been impediments to the management of the health crisis. Many have dismissed claims about the severity of the virus, the efficacy of masks, and more recently, even the benefit of vaccines. Conspiracy theories around the virus and the response to it have spread like wildfire, making an already difficult job near-insurmountable.

But our health workers have trudged on, defying not only systemic failures but dangerous conspiracy theories, rising to be counted in this most challenging period in history. And their sacrifices have been great. Separated from their families to selflessly care for strangers, many have contracted the virus and sadly died. As at the last count, hundreds of health workers have already been killed by the virus. At least 20 Nigerian doctors died from complications arising from coronavirus in just one week alone during the second wave of the virus, Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), FCT Chapter,  Enema Amodu, said recently.

Although health workers have been advised to use full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) before attending to patients, many reportedly do not have access to this equipment. Sadly, over 1000 health workers are reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nigeria. According to the country’s health minister, Osagie Ehanire, as of June 2, 2020, at least 812 health workers had tested positive for COVID-19.

Even in the light of this great sacrifice, news filtered out that the federal government had failed to honour its pledge of providing life insurance for frontline health workers combating the virus. In the thick of the battle with coronavirus, Nigerian health workers, including doctors had to resort to the last option of embarking on strike to get the government to attend to their needs. At a point, doctors had to stage a walkout; other health workers including nurses, midwives and radiologists also had to down tools. These health workers may be paying the ultimate price for a country without honour. A country that treats them with disdain.

In 2020, these health workers were a beacon in thick darkness, proving that humanity and civilization are preserved on the hallowed grounds of selfless sacrifice. They, as a single representation of honour, are our Person of the Year!

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