The Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (ARD-UITH) says many of its members are struggling to meet basic financial responsibilities, including paying their children’s school fees and maintaining their vehicles.
The association’s President, Dr. Monsuru Awodun, made this known on Monday during a news conference held in Ilorin as part of activities marking the 42nd Annual General Meeting and the Sir Ademola Aderibigbe Scientific Conference.
The theme for the 2025 edition is: “Leveraging Medical Residency Training as a Catalyst for Healthcare Policy Reforms in Nigeria.”
While addressing the ongoing nationwide strike, Awodun said doctors in Nigeria remain significantly underpaid when compared with their colleagues in other African and European nations. He stressed that the strike could have been avoided if the healthcare system was functioning properly.
According to him, the situation has deteriorated so much that some resident doctors cannot afford their children’s school fees or basic upkeep.
He added that the healthcare system is declining rapidly, and the National Executive Council has resolved to continue the total and indefinite strike.
Awodun described resident doctors as frontline “soldiers” committed to improving the nation’s healthcare, both for patients and practitioners. However, he noted that UITH is facing a severe manpower crisis—an issue affecting many tertiary hospitals nationwide.
He explained that many departments are operating with less than half the required number of doctors, even as patient numbers continue to rise. This has led to overstretched staff, poor service delivery, reduced training quality, and worsening patient outcomes.
Awodun also warned that an unprecedented number of resident doctors are resigning or leaving the country in search of better working conditions.
He identified poor pay, irregular salary structures for newly employed doctors, low hazard allowances, and the recent downgrading of postgraduate membership certificates as major issues.
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He noted that resident doctors are battling extreme fatigue and burnout, increasing the risk of medical errors. He called for the adoption of safe call-hour policies to protect both staff and patients.
Despite the challenges, Awodun highlighted several achievements by ARD-UITH. These include raising over ₦70 million to complete 11 self-contained apartments for members and medical students, pushing for the employment of 48 new resident doctors to ease workload, and organizing the association’s first entrepreneurship seminar to improve members’ financial literacy.
He added that the association also provided free medical and surgical outreach services to over 700 people in Owu-Isin and Ajase-Ipo communities.
