The Anambra Government has called on the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to support its efforts to shut down quack and unregistered health facilities in the state.
Dr Adam Obidike, the state’s Commissioner for Health, made the appeal on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Physicians Week and Scientific Conference of the NMA’s Awka Zone.
The theme of the week, luncheon and award presentation ceremony was “Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Obidike described the NMA as a critical partner and said the government would work with the association to identify fake and unregistered facilities.
“Anambra will work with the NMA because they will help us identify people who are not medical personnel but are practising in the state,” he said.
“We are determined to shut all of them down because people who go there receive treatment that is not appropriate for their ailments.
“We have a checklist, and anyone who wants to set up a facility should go to the Department of Medical Services to obtain the requirements, including the building design.”
In his welcome address, Prof. Tim-Uzoma Mbaeri, Chairman of the NMA’s Awka Zone, said the Physicians Week and Scientific Conference was an opportunity to celebrate the profession and reconnect members.
Mbaeri said the association had used the event to visit sick colleagues and provide free laboratory tests, including prostate-specific antigen tests and urinalysis.
He thanked NMA members and partners in the Awka branch for their contributions to the success of the week.
“We also enjoyed a novelty football match and had an opportunity to build friendships, enjoy recreation and strengthen inter-agency relationships.
“We find satisfaction not merely in the event we organised, but in the lives we have touched, the colleagues we have encouraged, the relationships we have strengthened and the visibility we have given our profession,” he said.
Mbaeri said three people received awards for meritorious service to the medical profession and the NMA: Dr Ifeoma Njelita, Dr Emmanuel Umenweke and Dr Amaka Ezeno.
Njelita is an associate professor and consultant in community medicine at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital.
Umenweke is a medical doctor at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical Centre in Awka. Ezeno, the third award recipient, is a lawyer, notary public and member of the Body of Benchers.
