Most satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) lack basic social amenities such as good healthcare services. Gishiri is one of such towns, as FRANCESCA IWAMBE discovers in this report.
Driving from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja through the city centre of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would give one the impression of a modern city that competes favourably with other seats of power across the globe. The FCT is a model city in terms of all the indices of development in Nigeria owing to the fact that it is the country’s seat of power. However, a peek into the satellite towns adjoining the well-paved roads and solar-lit streets of the city leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
Gishiri, a community located a few meters away from the city centre is a true reflection of the scenario. Alighting from the bus along the main road leading to Wuse, through Berger and walking down the bumpy road of Gishiri community, one would wonder where the community really is, as one has to move a few kilometres from the main road before getting to the community. As one veers off the highway, a bumpy and muddy road ushers you into Gishiri, a densely populated community with refuse dumpsites littering the community.
A resident of the community who identified herself as Mrs. Dorcas Idehai told this reporter that accessing basic healthcare facilities in the community is one of the biggest challenges confronting women and children. Narrating the challenges she encountered when she was pregnant with her second child, she said that “I went through hell when I took in for my second child. There were complications from the first day I took in all through the nine months of the pregnancy. Sometimes, the complications will start at midnight and my husband will start going through the pains of taking me to Maitama District General Hospital.” Mrs. Idehai said that interventions from those in authority would be most welcomed in the areas of health services provision, water supply and road infrastructure.
“We need government’s assistance in the areas of health services provision, water supply and road infrastructure. The only government-owned hospital we have close to us is in Maitama and as you can see for yourself, accessing the place during emergencies is usually a herculean task,” she bemoaned. Meanwhile, the Catholic medical practitioners under the umbrella of the Association of Catholic Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (ACMPN) have carried out a free medical outreach to cater for 1, 000 residents of the Gishiri community in Abuja. National President of ACMPN, Dr. Matthew Ashikeni, who expressed worry over the plight of the residents, said during the medical outreach that they discovered patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and other terminal illnesses that they never knew they had. He said that “health is wealth and the Gishiri community is more or less a rural community.
Although it is close to the city centre most residents do not have access to good healthcare services. We have discovered a lot of people who are diabetic, who have high blood pressure that are just knowing for the first time.” While stressing the need to revitalise primary health centres across Nigeria, Dr. Ashikeni said that it is only by doing so that the government can achieve its 2030 target of universal health coverage.
“Government has been talking about the revitalisation of the primary health centres but I do not believe that the rate we are developing is commensurate with the demand of the people. I feel that partnership between government, stakeholders and organisations is the key to bridge the gap, thereby bringing health services closer to the people. That is the only way the government can meet up with its 2030 target of universal health coverage. We need to move faster if we want to get there. He added that the free medical outreach is open for every member of the Gishiri community, irrespective of tribe and religious affiliation. “This is part of our corporate social responsibility. We are prepared for close to 1, 000 people for the free test, so as many that come for the test we are prepared. It is the love and commitment that we have for our fatherland that made us engage in this project. We are running series of tests such as malaria, diabetes, blood pressure, hypertension, HIV test and COVID-19 screening,” he stated.
On her part, Dr. Maureen Umemmuo- Umeakwewulu, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with the National Hospital, Abuja, decried the poor state of primary health centres in the country. She said that the only way to get it right in achieving UHC is by strengthening the primary healthcare centres facilities. “The government should focus on reviving primary healthcare centres. If the government wants to increase our health indices, we must strengthen those areas where a poor person can trek to reach a nearby clinic where she/he does not need to take a taxi because you don’t know how much is in the person’s pocket. We need functional primary healthcare centres, trained nurses on ground and ambulance services because we are still among the countries leading in high maternal mortality rate,” Dr. Umeakwewulu said. She added that Nigeria cannot be talking of improving the indices of maternal mortality when the primary health care centres are in a dilapidated state, averring that “we cannot be talking of improving the indices of maternal mortality without talking of primary healthcare centres.
And for us to have good and functional primary healthcare centres, ambulances have to be on ground to move a woman in labour from a primary healthcare centre to where she can get care. Assuming a woman is in labour in this community, you can imagine how long it will take to get to a nearby hospital with the rough road leading to town. We must address the basics. If not, we cannot go anywhere with this level of mortality.” Meanwhile, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) insists that 30 million Nigerians now have access to quality health services. Executive Director of the agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib however, admitted that health outcomes have remained sub-optimal in Nigeria despite many years of relatively increasing investment in the health system through input financing. He noted that the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), a project of the Federal Government has brought total turn-around of the country’s health sector.
“This transformation has ensured that about 30 million Nigerians, including women and children have access to quality basic health services and secondary services for continuum of care. As part of the Federal Government’s efforts to improve access to quality healthcare for Nigerians, the NPHCDA commenced the pre-pilot of outputbased financing in 2011 under the NSHIP using the experiences from Rwanda, Haiti, and Cambodia in three local government areas in the country,” Shuaib disclosed. The council areas, he said were Fufore, in Adamawa State, Wamba in Nasarawa State and Ondo-East in Ondo State, respectively.
According to him, the “initial tremendous results shown in the pre-pilot local government areas informed the government’s commitment of $171.5 million and $145 million credit/grant from the World Bank for the scaled up of result-based financing to the remaining 49 local government areas across Adamawa, Nasarawa and Ondo States as well as extension to 64 local government areas in the remaining five North East states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. This was to rapidly rehabilitate and re-establish healthcare service delivery as a result of the devastating effects of the insurgency in the area.”
Pingback: DevOps Solution