The team of 15 Chinese medical professionals who arrived at the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 8, 2020, with medical
equipment worth about $1.5 million, is expected to complete the
mandatory 14-day isolation period today.
The team is expected to
begin work tomorrow after the completion of the 14-day quarantine
period. The invitation of the Chinese doctors by the Presidential Task
Force on COVID-19 was highly criticized by most Nigerians especially
doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
But
13 days after the arrival of the Chinese medical team made up of
doctors, nurses, and laboratory technicians, the Minister of Health, Dr.
Osagie Ehanire and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 have failed
to provide a tangible update on the Chinese team.
The situation
has raised a lot of concerns and questions: Who are these Chinese
doctors? What are their names, designations and specialisations? Have
they completed the mandatory two-week isolation? Have they started work
in Nigeria? What is the scope of their work in Nigeria? How long are
they going to stay in Nigeria?
When these questions were put
forward to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, he told The
Guardian: “We are not the only ones getting supplies from China…even New
York got 1,000 ventilators from them as donations. Start with this
recent evidence of Chinese experts giving technical support on COVID-19
to many countries, including our former colonial masters.
“A
group of Chinese experts also arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) to help
deal with the coronavirus, bringing medical supplies with them. That
was the first official medical team from China to the UK to help its
fight against COVID-19.
“I do not see the essence of dwelling on
the issue of Chinese in the face of all our other challenges before us.
Most nations were glad to get support and supplies from China.”
When
contacted for an update on the Chinese doctors, the President, Nigerian
Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Aliyu Sokomba, told The
Guardian: “I know very little about the Chinese ‘experts’ and their
mission in Nigeria.
“The position of the Honorable Minister of
Health is that they are not here to render medical services, they are
here to install and train on how to use the equipment donated by China
as part of China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“Nothing has been said
about them since they arrived.” Also, when contacted on the same issue,
the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre
for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, told The Guardian:
“This is completely in the hands of the Federal Ministry of Health
(FMoH).”
President NMA, Dr. Francis Adedayo Faduyile, told The
Guardian yesterday that the association still rejected the importation
of the Chinese doctors to help the country fight the novel coronavirus
pandemic.
According to Faduyile, the NMA is never against
donation or assistance of any form. “In fact, we have openly appreciated
individuals and corporate bodies in the country and the Chinese
businessman, Jack Ma, for their donations and collaborations,” he said.
The
medical doctors said NMA members were also not averse to the sharing of
knowledge and experiences but they pointed out to the government that
different information technology (IT) platforms could be utilised
through teleconferencing, Skype meeting, zoom meetings especially with
the increasing use of telemedicine worldwide.
One of the key
issues raised by the President, NMA and Associate Professor/Consultant
Pathologist, Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State
University College of Medicine/ Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Dr.
Francis Adedayo Faduyile, was that Nigerian healthcare professionals
were not yet overwhelmed in spite of the fragility of our healthcare
system, the health personnel have not at any time raised concerns about
their inability to treat patients.
He had told The Guardian:
“Moreover, the government has not at any time requested from us
difficulties seen pertaining to the treatment and management of this
infection in the country. We felt that rather than addressing obvious
decadence including the deficiency of basic tools and appropriate
protective equipment, poor welfare packages and lack of any form of
insurance for frontline workers, the Federal Government was busy
preparing to receive the Chinese under the guise of donation of
consumables and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). In Nigeria we are
not bereft of ideas as well as the technical expertise needed to manage
COVID-19.”
But the health minister had told journalists that the
Chinese medical professionals were not in Nigeria to treat Nigerian
patients but to provide technical support and training to Nigerians
involved in treating COVID-19 patients.
Ehanire said the experts
would be helping with strategy for and management of the disease, but
would first be quarantined. “They will be in quarantine for 14 days.
They knew that before they came and they conducted their own tests
before they left their country,” Ehanire said.
The team will be
tested under quarantine in accordance with Nigeria’s existing
restrictions on travellers from high-risk countries such as China and
Italy. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has launched “EKO TELEMED”
for the residents in the State in order to further protect the citizens
and reduce their risk of contacting coronavirus.
