Residents of Jigawa, a suburb of Warawa Local Government Area of Kano State, have decried the appalling condition of a health post meant to bring medical aid closer to them.
A pro-health Nigerian medium, Nigeria Health Watch, assessed the center and discovered its dilapidating condition. “Health posts are designed to bring quality healthcare closer to rural community members,” the platform tweeted. “However, the health post in this community is not operating as it should, as residents must sit on the floor when they access care at the facility.”
Malam Sulaiman Isyaku, the focal person of the Jigawa Health Post, said the facility, which was meant to provide quality health care to the rural dwellers, has become a displeasing concern for both the staff and patients accessing the facility.
According to him, patients sit on the bare floor whenever they come for healthcare. Pregnant women are not excluded from the mess, said Isyaku.
Apart from the lack of seating materials dotting the facility, WikkiTimes learnt that the roofs of the health post were perforated, making it hard for staff and patients to cope when it rains.
In addition, there is no privacy for pregnant women in labour room as the windows of the facility are worn out. The broken windows, Nigeria Health Watch says, violate the women’s privacy during child delivery.
Water scarcity is another endemic confronting the facility, according to the focal person.
Samira Abubakar, the officer in charge of antenatal services, said the safety of the patients and staff is at risk because there is no perimeter fence in the whole facility.
Narrating her experiences, Malama Habiba, one of the women who patronise the facility, said, generally, women can cope with sitting on bare floors but not pregnant women. “It is appalling to see them sitting like that,” she said. “Sometimes they remove their shoes and sit on them.”
