For years, residents of Dabar Baga, a community in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, have been without access to proper healthcare. Despite repeated efforts from the community, the Dabar Baga Primary Healthcare (PHC) center remains abandoned. This has left an estimated 6,000 people, along with nearby villages such as Basara, Bamasu, Dakori, and Gayawa, which collectively house about 3,000 residents, without essential medical services. The situation forces pregnant women to travel for 40km to access antenatal care services elsewhere in Burra town.
The Dabar Baga PHC
The Dabar Baga PHC was established over two decades ago, intended to serve as a means of healthcare for the community and surrounding villages. Initially, it provided a range of essential services, including maternal and child health care, immunizations, and basic treatments for common ailments. At its peak, the PHC was a bustling facility, benefiting not only the residents of Dabar Baga but also those from at least 15 neighboring villages, including some in Kano State. However, a lack of maintenance, coupled with environmental damage and administrative neglect, led to its gradual decline. Today, the PHC stands as a shadow of its former self, its once-vibrant services now reduced to near non-existence.
The PHC’s roofing has collapsed due to windstorms over the years, and the facility is devoid of functional medical equipment. Old registers, abandoned in dust, are the only remnants of its former operations, as observed by Wikkitimes.
The dilapidated state of the PHC forces residents, particularly women in need of antenatal care and routine immunizations, to travel between 30 and 40 kilometers to seek healthcare. These journeys are made on roads riddled with potholes, further exacerbating the difficulties faced by patients.

Sulaiman Ibrahim Dabar Baga, a community member, highlighted the dire situation, stating that residents only seek medical care in Burra or Gani towns when ailments become severe. Hajara Sani, a 37-year-old woman, shared her struggle, explaining that financial constraints prevent her from attending antenatal care as her husband cannot afford the N4,000 needed for transportation and feeding to travel to Burra.

Hama Muhammad expressed concern over the limited operation of the facility, which only opens on Mondays for Routine Immunization (RI). Due to the collapsed building, these immunizations are conducted under a tree, exposing children and healthcare workers to harsh weather conditions. He pointed out the severe consequences, including increased child and infant mortality due to the lack of a functional health center.

Traditional Birth Attendant to the Rescue
In the absence of a working healthcare facility, Zuwaira Ayuba, a traditional birth attendant, has become the community’s lifeline for pregnant women. She described the complications she encounters during deliveries, such as eclampsia and excessive bleeding, which often result in fatalities that could be prevented with hospital care.

“It is quite challenging task because sometimes, I will be called to different houses that women are on labour. if we have functional hospital with workers, the burden will be less on me,” Zuwaira said.
Khamisu Dabarbaga also shared his grief, having lost two brothers during a cholera outbreak in 2020 in the community. He recalled the hopelessness he felt during such health crises, with no medical support to curb the spread of disease or treat the afflicted.
For Abdullahi Kabiru, it was the tragic loss of his wife due to prolonged labor that still lingers in his memory. “I struggled to transport her to Burra General Hospital on deplorable roads, only for her to die enroute from excessive bleeding. It was a sad experience.” Kabiru lamented that her life might have been saved if a functional PHC were available locally.
He wondered why the government, politicians, UNICEF, WHO, and other national donor organizations could not heed their several complaints and requests.
Community Leader
Mal. Naziru Haruna, the ward head of Dabar Baga, expressed frustration over the unfulfilled promises from authorities. Despite numerous written and verbal requests, no action has been taken. Haruna noted that many villages, including those in neighboring Kano State, previously benefited from the PHC before its current state. He urged the government and donor agencies to intervene and establish a new healthcare facility to alleviate their suffering.

Mal. Haruna added “This is our priority now as a community. Women and children suffer the most because they cannot endure what men are coping with.”
Zakarai Al’assan, the facility in charge, confirmed the PHC’s decade-long disrepair. He noted that health services are limited to Routine Immunization on Mondays and Thursdays due to the building’s collapse. These immunizations are administered under a tree, reflecting the dire state of healthcare provision in the area. Al’assan stressed the urgent need for a functional PHC to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in the community.
Residents Reject Vaccinations
In protest against the neglect of their only health facility, residents of Dabar Baga and neighboring villages have ceased accepting routine vaccinations for infants. They argued that they have no hospital at the moment as the rainy season set in where the skeletal work that used to be done under a tree is no longer possible.
A community development association secretary, Aliyu Usman Dabarbaga, in a phone call, told WikkiTimes that the rejection is a response to the government’s apparent indifference to their needs for repair of their only health facility. The hospital’s current state has turned it into a shelter for animals, highlighting the community’s desperate plea for help.
He said “henceforth we will not allow anybody to conduct routine immunization or any other immunization/ vaccinations in our community, they should leave us to die all”.
Government’s Response
Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adamu Umar Sambo, said his ministry is not aware of the Dabar Baga health facility condition. He, however, promised to investigate the situation with the view to addressing the problem to enable the community access healthcare services.
Dr. Sambo added that efforts are underway to enhance primary healthcare centers across Bauchi State to meet the growing demand for medical services.
When contacted, Hon. Ibrahim Zubairu, the caretaker chairman of Ningi Local Government, responded via a text message, stating, “We will repair the hospital soon.”
This investigation is produced with support from the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project (CMEDIA) and funded by MacArthur Foundation