Abuja community appeals for PHC upgrade

Residents of Pigba Sama in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)  of the FCT, have appealed to the government to urgently improve healthcare services at their Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC). The residents cited high cost of treatment, shortage of qualified personnel, poor infrastructure and lack of essential equipment as part of their challenges. They made the […]

Residents of Pigba Sama in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)  of the FCT, have appealed to the government to urgently improve healthcare services at their Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC).

The residents cited high cost of treatment, shortage of qualified personnel, poor infrastructure and lack of essential equipment as part of their challenges.

They made the appeal on Friday at a community health awareness outreach organised by Nigeria Health Watch to commemorate the 2025 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day with the theme: “Unaffordable Health Costs? We’re Sick of it”.

Speaking on their experiences, Mrs Peace Ebenezer said the PHC’s challenges put pressure on families, especially mothers seeking maternal and child healthcare.

She said, “They (PHC) always complain because some of the parents complain about the charges. They are trying their best, using their own money to buy medicine so that they see our children look good and healthy.”

She explained that delivery cost depended on several items mothers must provide.

Another resident, Mrs Rita Justin, shared her distress over a case involving a mother of twins who did not receive timely care.

She said, “They said they could handle it, but they didn’t have enough equipment. They delayed the lady, and by the time they moved her to another facility, one of the babies had died.”

Mrs Justin described nights at the facility as particularly problematic, saying, “Sometimes in the middle of the night, you come here and you won’t see anybody to treat you. I cannot recommend the facility to anyone needing urgent care at late hours.”

For many other residents, the challenge is lack of awareness of health insurance.

Mrs Jennifer Okechukwu said she had heard of health insurance but did not know how to register.

She said, “If I go to the hospital and tell them what is wrong, they give me drugs and I pay, but I will love to register because it will reduce the medical bill, especially for people who don’t have much.”

The Officer in Charge of the PHC, Mr Isa Tanko, said the facility was overstretched and severely understaffed.

He said, “We are just three government staff out of the 25 of us working here; all the others are voluntary workers.

“Most of the time, we get the drugs by ourselves. Our toilets and many other facilities need renovation. Even chairs for patients are not enough.”

He added that the PHC did not provide services to health insurance patients but was recently visited by officials of the FCT Health Insurance Scheme.

He said, “We were told the programme will kick-start by January. With that, treatment is going to be free and it will increase the number of people accessing services.” (NAN)

The Village Head, Chief Zakwoyi Dogo, said the outreach exposed many residents to information they had never received about government programmes.

Chief Zakwoyi said, “Now we know that if a woman is pregnant and the issue is complicated, she can go to designated facilities for Caesarean Section (CS) without spending any money.”

He added that, “I am appealing to the government to take full charge of this hospital. Send more staff and send the drugs that are needed at the local level.” Ms Asari Ndem, Senior Communications Manager at Nigeria Health Watch, said Pigba Sama was chosen for the outreach because it represented communities that faced structural barriers to accessing quality healthcare.

She said, “Whenever anybody falls ill, the first question is: how much is it going to cost? That is what we are seeing here as well.”

She added that the organisation aimed to equip residents with information they needed to demand improved healthcare.

She explained that, “Our work is to inform people and give them the knowledge to make these demands so we can all enjoy good healthcare and a resilient nation.”