After years of neglect, the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Karamin Rami, a rural community in Mashegu Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, shut down five years ago. It can no longer provide healthcare services to the community members.
The PHC is nothing but a dilapidated structure, as there is no roofing, no equipment and no medication. It has nothing but health workers who have nothing to work with. This prompted the community leader to offer them a small shop where they now provide services to the community members.
According to Zainab Mohammed the officer in charge of the facility, the shop given to them is too small for both health workers and patients to sit in. ‘’It is not even enough for us the health workers. It is just a small room. We follow the community members to their houses to provide them with services. We follow women in labor to conduct delivery at home,” she said. They sometimes must also follow women and children home to provide immunisation and antenatal services. Mohammed further lamented the frequent stock out of medications, especially essential drugs, and how that is forcing community members to travel to other towns to buy them after getting a prescription.
Hafizu Aliyu, a community member said several complaints and pleas have been lodged to the Mashegu Local Government authorities for the health facility to be rehabilitated but nothing has been done. He added that when women are in labor at night, they must be transported to other towns and this has led to the loss of many lives.
Karamin Rami community members are eager to access healthcare, but the absence of a health facility is a hindrance. No woman should be forced to give birth at home or die due to lack of access to a health facility. Health workers deserve to provide care in comfort and dignity. Children should be able to receive their routine immunisation shots in comfort and with dignity. For these to be achieved, Karamin Rami community members are requesting for,
- Complete reconstruction of Karamin Rami PHC
- Provision of equipment and essential medications to the facility
