By Anayo Okoli, Dennis Agbo, Chinonso Alozie & Jeff Agbodo
ENUGU -THE condition of health facilities in rural communities in the South-East region is disappointing. Rural dwellers go through a lot to access healthcare. In many communities, there are no health centres, where they exist, they are in a sorry state. Even those built through community efforts have been abandoned by the governments to rot away. The situation has left rural dwellers at the mercy of local medicine sellers and herbalists. What efforts are the state governments making to change the situation?
No electricity, no water in our hospital —Ikem residents
The condition of Ikem General Hospital in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State has caused residents of the community untold pain and frustration. Originally established to take care of the health needs of residents of communities in Isi-Uzo and Udenu local government areas, the hospital has been left to rot away. Our reporter visited the hospital and interacted with the locals who expressed sadness over the state of the hospital despite several promises by the government.
From the entrance of the hospital, one is confronted with disappointment by the sight of overgrown weeds that have almost eclipsed the signpost of the hospital. A rusty bus belonging to the hospital could be seen parked beside a non-functional borehole with an empty overhead tank. Besides the bus, partially burnt syringes, needles, and other disposable medical instruments could be seen scattered around, indicating that the hospital does not have a functional incinerator.
Sadly, there was no staff at the hospital when our reporter visited. The entrance to the main hospital hall was locked. Behind the hall is the Out-Patient Department (OPD) which residents said was newly constructed by the state government. The OPD, however, is surrounded by thick bushes with no staff in sight.
At the far left of the OPD is what used to serve as the hospital ward; the structure was demolished by the state government after a resident made a video of it and posted on Facebook in early 2020. Embarrassed by the gory sight of the facility, the then administration pulled down the building, promising to build a befitting ward for the hospital. The relics of the building are still intact.
The maternity section of the hospital is said to be fully functional though most residents have lost faith in the facility. The women rather patronize private maternity homes and traditional birth attendants.
A bungalow located a few meters away from the hospital was meant to serve as the doctor’s quarter, but the building is uninhabited as the doctors posted to the hospital live within a range of over 65 kilometers outside the community.
On a second visit to the hospital, our reporter met a staff of the hospital who was willing to talk albeit under anonymity. He said that though the government promised to renovate the hospital, no action has been seen from the government.
“The state government wanted to renovate that hospital but after demolishing the ward, they left it like that. This happened in 2020. People have even started encroaching on the hospital land. Nothing is working in the hospital except the mortuary and the laboratory working partially.
“If you have a wound now and you go to the hospital, they cannot even treat your wound. There is no electricity and there is no generator. It is only the laboratory that has a generator which was donated by the late Chief Greg Ugwueze,” he said.
A health worker who hails from the community, Moses Nnamuchi, said the hospital is there but you don’t see doctors; you don’t see nurses. All of them are running their private businesses because the government is not serious about it and nobody is asking questions.
“As long as I am alive, none of my relatives will go there for any reason. Even if I am unconscious, nobody should take me to that place. What is the essence of taking me there when there is nobody to take care of me?
“Our women go to all these local midwives. That is the only alternative. If you go to the hospital now, you won’t see anybody. All the doors are locked. So are you taking a woman in labour there to see the physical building or to be attended to? As I am speaking to you, it is a dead zone. It is a place where these rascals go to smoke and play their gambling games because nothing is happening there.”
Osmund Ugwu, a public servant who hails from the area narrated how two of his cousins died as a result of the poor state of the hospital.
“I had two cousins who died because of the condition of the so-called general hospital in my community. When we were younger, we enjoyed that hospital but it is no longer the case.”
Gabriel Nnaji, a community leader in the area accused the government of utter neglect after several promises. “We don’t have a hospital anywhere. The building is there but there is no hospital.
“If the government can come and do some renovations, bring doctors that can be here and get the necessary equipment, things will be different. When our people get sick and they don’t have money to go to Enugu, then you are at the mercy of God.”
The Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ike Obi accepted the fact that Ikem General Hospital has deteriorated and said that the government will soon take action.
Also, the Mbah administration, he said, is taking drastic measures to change the condition of all hospitals in the state, including those in the rural communities.
In Anambra, the story is the same. Rural health facilities are in total ruins. In Orumba North and South council areas, like other rural councils, hardly is any government rural health centre functioning well. Rather, the ones operated by the churches maintain skeletal services. However, the government has revived some general hospitals mainly in the urban communities.
In Imo, the rural hospitals are also rotting away. But the government said a lot is being done to provide good health facilities to the people, saying that emphasis is also shifting to health insurance. Governor Hope Uzodimma’s Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Eze Ugochukwu said it is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to address health needs of the people.
“Recent data released by the Imo State Health Insurance Agency (IMSHIA) shows that the number of people using Imo State’s affordable healthcare program has been increasing steadily in recent months, as more and more people learn about the program and its benefits. The program is not only improving people’s health, but it is also providing economic benefits by reducing the need for expensive out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
“The recent release covering April 2023 to January 2024 shows that total visits have increased since last year, with 207,775 people now accessing healthcare through the program. This is encouraging news, and it is great to see that more people can access medical care through the Imo State Health Insurance Agency which is a demonstration of the program’s huge success”, Ugochukwu said.
In Ebonyi, the Acting Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sabinus K. Nwibo said the Governor Francis Nwifuru administration met moribund, dilapidated and deteriorated health facilities in the state which prompted him to make health one of the administration’s priorities to change the narrative and provide healthcare to the downtrodden.
“Upon assumption of office, Governor Nwifuru lifted the ban on employment. He employed health workers in the cadre of doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, health attendants, pharmacists, and even radiographers, optometrists in the field. He gave us a quota of 39 each, totalling 346 health workers that he injected into the system.
“Upon assumption of office, we met a moribund state of health in the state. I could say that before now, we had less than nine doctors covering the entire state. But, today, every hospital in the state can boast of two doctors, at least. So, that is what he did to revive the sector.
“So many things went wrong. There was no equipment, even the available equipment was dilapidated, no buildings. But Governor Nwifuru decided to equip the entire general hospitals and bought loads of modern medical equipment. Currently, we are procuring MRI and CT scans for the state as well as other vital equipment. The government procured 46 newly equipped ambulance services.
“Then, the governor also enrolled about 60,766 vulnerable persons into the health insurance scheme. These people include pregnant women and children under five. Pregnant women, under-five children, were enrolled free of charge. So, health insurance is working in Ebonyi State, and it is the state government that is paying for all the insurance.”
