By Folayimika Akanbi
As a measure to stem frequency of assault on health workers while on duties, the Kwara State House of Assembly has called on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to direct the Ministries of Justice and Health to develop and implement a legal framework with zero-tolerance for violence in public health facilities.
The legislative’s call is also targeted at criminalizing assault on health workers with swift prosecution of offenders.
The House made the call in its resolution on a motion titled “Need to discourage assault on health workers by patients relative in Kwara State.”
It urged the Governor to direct the Ministry of Health to establish security measures in public health institutions, including deployment of trained security personnel, installation of CCTV surveillance system and controlled access to sensitive hospital areas with a view to disposition of health workers and patients.
While the Chairman, House Committee on Health and Nutrition, Ogunniyi David Sheun, moved the motion, Mrs Mariam Yusuf Aladi of Ilorin South Constituency seconded it.
The Speaker, Engr Yakubu Danladi Salihu, who presided over the plenary, asked the Governor to direct the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Communication to launch a statewide public awareness campaign to educate citizens on the limits of medical care, the dangers of late hospital presentation, and the legal consequences of assaulting healthcare workers.
The House therefore tasked the Health Workers to imbibe attitudinal change in their relationship with patients and their relatives and provide them with prompt and adequate information to avoid unnecessary tension in health facilities.
Ogunniyi, while leading the House debate, lamented that healthcare workers in primary health centres, General Hospital and maternity facilities across the state increasingly face verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, physical assault, and destruction of hospital property, particularly following medical emergencies, complication during childbirth, or unfortunate patient deaths.
He identified healthcare workers as the backbone of the healthcare system and the frontline of the lives of citizens, especially mothers and the vulnerable ones in the society.
The lawmaker noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that over 70% of the deaths from malaria, sepsis, and obstetric emergencies are preventable with early treatment, while Nigeria records one of the highest maternal mortality rates globally, largely due to the “Three Delays”.
In another development, the House Leader, Magaji Oba Abdulkadir, laid the report of the Kwara State Auditor General Annual Report on the Account General Financial Statement for the Year Ended 31st December, 2025.
