Locals in villages under Polchi community in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State depend on drug vendors for healthcare needs.
The villages — Kuntal, Gurup, Layi, Unguawan Dawaki, Tsakani, Illi, Tudu, Unguwan Wakili, and Sang — have no health facility, WikkiTimes learnt. Locals trek several miles for medical treatment; but inside drug vendor shops.
Alternatively, they travel long distances to the 10km-Katsinawa town along Bauchi-Jos road or resort to 8km-Mararaban Liman Katagum along Bauchi-Dass road. Unfortunately, these communities also operate a not-too-good healthcare system.
Locals decried not having an indigenous son to take their affairs seriously, according to the District Head of Polchi, Dauda Jibrin.
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The monarch told WikkiTimes that they only depend on the drug vendors operating in the area to treat most of their ailments, “but in some instances, the patients pay the cost through preventable deaths.”
During WikkiTimes’ visit to the community, all the (three) drug shops were not operating. One of the attendants “was away for over five days,” says Jibrin, adding, the other one was also closed but the third one might have gone to market.
“Our most pressing demand is; a healthcare center then school,” the monarch stressed. “We complained several times and we could not succeed so far, we don’t even have a dispensary here. You see, we don’t have our son there to follow up.”
He added: “Because we have never been promised despite our several applications to both state and local government for the center.
“We take our patients to the chemist (drug vendors) but when they are not around or when the illness worsened, we take the patients to Mararaban Liman Katagum, but sometime before reaching there, we lost some of our members, because there is no good road to Mararaba.”
According to the monarch, the community would be glad if the government provides them with a health centre.
“I wish to see the time when we will have a healthcare centre in this area,” he said.
Bala Dauda, one of the drug vendors, told WikkiTimes in a phone conversation that the patients suffer untold hardship if their cases go beyond what they could handle.
He added that a road linking Polchi to where they can get access to any health facility is in shambles. This, according to him, exacerbates the problem. “Patients on several occasions die along the road because of the prolonged journey.”
Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency could not immediately comment.
When contacted, he told WikkiTimes he was away for official assignment and would only comment when he comes back.
But Mohammed had earlier told WikkiTimes that there are about 349 healthcare facilities in Bauchi State and the government is doing the needful to transform the existing ones and establish more centres.
Similarly, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State had last week said his administration made giant strides in improving healthcare delivery, saying hundreds of facilities and general hospitals had been renovated, equipped and upgraded.
