Linus Oota, Lafia
Primary Health Care centres across Nasarawa State are in a deplorable state, with most facilities ill-equipped and inadequately staffed, according to an investigation by the Daily Sun.
Just a little over two years ago in September 2017, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had donated $500,000 (about N200 million) to the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (NSPHCDA) for the upgrade of primary health care facilities in the state.
However, most residents, particularly those in rural areas, have continued to besiege the state owned Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia to access medical attention, even for minor illnesses that would have been taken care of by the primary health care facilities, due to a lack of drugs and personnel at the PHCs.
Our correspondent gathered that, with the state of affairs of PHCs in the state, there are insinuations that the Gates Foundation donation may have been mismanaged.
It was also gathered that about 83 children have died of acute malnutrition in Nasarawa from 2017 to date, with little or no visible efforts by the state government through the NSPHCDA towards addressing the trend.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that barely two years after the Gates fund was sunk into the PHCs, the facilities smacks of neglect.
In 2017, the CS-SUNN, an NGO, reported that 33 children died of acute malnutrition in Nasarawa, while in 2018, a nutrition officer at the NSPHCDA confirmed the death of 30 children of acute malnutrition, with 20 deaths so far recorded in 2019 due to the non availability of food supplements to manage malnourished children at 15 designated primary health care centres.
The Executive Chairman of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Adis Mohammed, refused to disclose to our correspondent how much the state has invested so far in the primary health care sector in the last three years given the rising deaths of children and maternal mortality.
Our correspondent, who visited most of the PHCs across the state, further gathered that apart from inadequate manpower, most buildings housing the health centers are in state of disrepair, with caved in roofs, broken ceilings and windows on the brink of collapse.
A visit to Kayarda and Duduguru PHCs in Obi Local Government Area revealed that the unkempt environment surrounding the health care centres has caused an infestation rodents and insects, Daily Sun discovering that workers and patients have resorted to defecating in nearby bushes in the absence of functional toilets in the facilities.
A worker who pleaded anonymity said that his work facility does not get supplies of medical aids, including medicine, from either local or state governments, with the result that drugs are bought directly from pharmacies.
Residents who spoke to our correspondent complained about the deplorable state of the PHCs, telling us that the PHCs may have been left to deteriorate.
When contacted, the state executive chairman of the NSPHCDA, Dr Adis Mohammed, declined to comment referring our correspondent to the state Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning.
Visiting the Ministry, Permanent Secretary Emmanuel Alidzi Maman said that the state government has released substantial funds to the State Primary Health Care Development Agency to put the PHCs in good condition to enable residents access quality health care services.
He expressed surprise over the high number of children who have died due to the non availability of Ready to Use Food and other supplements to manage Severe Acute Malnutrition.