CSO’s carpet govt on state of Primary Health Care in Nigeria

Civil Society Groups have blamed the federal government for the poor state of Primary Health Care (PHC) in communities across the country.

The CSO’s, Follow The Money in partnership with the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP), represented by Johnny Ebimobo-Ere Bella at a town hall meeting in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State, said the time has come for citizens to hold the government accountable for ill-equipped PHC in communities.

She said a large percentage of Nigeria’s vulnerable people depend on primary health care, adding that 80 percent of the 30,000 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) established across communities in Nigeria, lack the capacity to provide essential healthcare services.

“Our findings in Azagba Ogwashi health care centre proved that all is not well with our health care centres, no clean water, understaffed and without COVID-19 vaccine administration. To make matter worse, I was told by one of the patients of Azagba PHC, who refused to give her name that during delivery a phone is used as a source of light.”

“According to the guideline of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and in line with world standard requirements for PHCs, the following minimum standard must be met; functional separate toilets for males and females in the facility, availability of clean water supply within the PHC facility, connection to a power grid and other alternative power sources, delivery room, in-patient ward section, maternity lying-in-section, six Junior Community Health Extension Workers (JCHEW).

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“Others are, two health attendants, four Nurses and Midwives, a detached building of at least 13 rooms, one pharmacy technician, one community health officer and one medical officer.”

The CTAP representative further added that, until the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and its leadership, start identifying the challenges facing PHC facilities across the country the PHC can’t provide effective healthcare services.

Speaking at the town hall meeting, the Diokpa of Azagba Ogwashi, Patrick Sunday Onyeahazia, said for the past 20 years, the healthcare centre in Azagba has remained unattended to, adding that “there is no improvement, no drugs, no light, we want the government to come and fixed it.”

Isaac Okafor said, he was very disappointed that the government have abandoned their community. “Even when the building being used for healthcare centre was built by the community, the government can’t equip the place so that they can provide essential healthcare services to the people.

One of the representatives from the Azagba Ogwashi healthcare centre, Ogbe Aghogho who spoke at the town hall meeting, said that they have two working staff and six casuals, (one midwife, one recorder and six casuals.)

She further added that, since 2018, “the six casuals have been working as casual, after graduating from Schools of Nursing and our take home is N20,000 only monthly, however, this has affected the productivity.”