The Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Kogi chapter, has appealed to the state government for improved remuneration and welfare packages for veterinary doctors in the state.
The state’s chairman of NVMA, Dr Tolu Omotugba, made the call after a ‘road walk’ on Friday in Lokoja as part of activities to celebrate “World Veterinary Day” 2024.
World Veterinary Day is celebrated every April 27, with this year’s theme being “Veterinarians Are Essential Health Workers.”.
Speaking to journalists after the road walk, Omotugba stressed the importance of animal doctors as essential health workers and their worth in society.
According to him, the remuneration of vet doctors in the state is not commensurate with the level of sacrifices and positive health impact they are making in society.
“Today is a day that is being celebrated globally to show ourselves as vet animal doctors and our value addition to society.
“We are essential health workers in the sense that we are responsible for the health of animals as well as public health.
“So, we are dealing with two health conditions: the animals and the human beings.
“We treat the animals when they are sick, and we go to abattoirs to prevent zoonotic disease conditions that are supposed to move from animals to humans.
“When you hear that there is a drop in zoonotic conditions among the human population, it is an indication that the animal doctors are working.
“So, today is a day to tell the world what we do. Although people don’t usually place much value on vets in this part of the world,” he said.
He emphasised that the greatness and the moral progress of any nation would be largely determined by how its animals were treated.
He added, “We expect that in the coming years, under this new administration in Kogi and Nigeria, that vet will be given its proper place in society and be supported immensely.
“We have met several state actors and several stakeholders, and we will keep saying that the vet remunerations in Kogi State have not been properly attended to.”.
He, however, appreciated Governor Ahmed Ododo for having the interest of the civil servants at heart and for always paying workers’ salaries promptly.
“But we want to plead with the governor and draw his attention to the issues of non-implementation of the revised CONMESS in the state. We appeal to him to treat it as a matter of urgency.
“We need to be adequately remunerated and compensated for all the sacrifices we are making as vet doctors in society,” Omotugba said.
Speaking on the Animal Ranching Initiative of the federal government, Dr Khalid Bashiru, the Publication Relations Officer of NVMA, called for the full adoption of ranching due to its immense benefits to society.
According to him, ranching will go a long way towards helping mitigate the incessant crises and conflicts between farmers and herders.
He added that ranching would boost livestock productivity and the economic situation in the livestock subsector in the state.
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