The Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (ACMPN) has expressed hope that Nigeria’s health system will improve after the COVID-19 experience.
The President of the association, Dr Emmanuel Okechukwu, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja.
Okechukwu said that the pandemic had exposed the weaknesses and lack of basic infrastructure in the country’s healthcare system.
“We are people of faith and that is what is sustaining us.
“ But I am hoping that going forward, we will gain work on the strength, integrity, capacity and capability of our healthcare system so that we can provide care for our people,’’ he said.
Okechukwu, however, described the lockdown in Abuja and some parts of the country as the only primary antidote to containing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
He urged the people to show understanding with the authorities, even in the face of hardship.
“The movement restrictions have brought hunger and hardship, but we must endure in order to overcome this deadly virus.
The ACMPN president, however, urged governments at all levels to ensure economic empowerment for citizens in order to help ease the palpable pains.
“People are hungry; that is already a source of sickness. A hungry person is an angry person; his/her psychology is obsessed; such a person cannot work and he/she remains unproductive.
“ Hunger can cause disease, and disease can cause hunger; they are two sides of the same coin.
“My heart goes to those who live on daily subsistence, that is, those who eat from what they are able to sell or make on daily basis.
“We are people of faith generally; we do not easily despair. We are resilient, firm and strong, and that is required at this time of lockdown. The pandemic, uncertainty and even hunger cannot break us.
“ Nigerians should not lose hope; we will overcome all this and I pray we learn lessons from it, as individuals, families, community and at governmental level, so that our nation can be better than what it is right now,’’ he said. (NAN)
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
