Challenging health conditions in Katsina
With its might, if the Federal Government cannot be on top of meeting the challenge of basic necessities of life such as the provision of health care, it means the situation could be critically dire in states, especially those considered to be rural. Due to this rural nature, the people in such states suffer from […]
With its might, if the Federal Government cannot be on top of meeting the challenge of basic necessities of life such as the provision of health care, it means the situation could be critically dire in states, especially those considered to be rural. Due to this rural nature, the people in such states suffer from different kind of ailments ranging from water-borne diseases, to malaria, fever and high fever, typhoid fever, cholera, VVF, hygienic-related illnesses, among others.
Katsina State, with a high literate population though, is classified to be among the rural states. Given the above situation, surmounting the health care challenges of the state will require political will.
As a rural state, with an equally large rural setting, health facilities are mostly located in the city centers of Katsina, Danmusa, Daura, Mani, Musawa, Malumfashi, Baure, Babbar Ruga, Rimi, Jibia , Kurfi, Ingawa, among others. We in Jibia can tell the story much better because of how we are feeling the pinches. The Shema administration is very much aware of the enormous distance problem with respect to the locations of the major hospitals.
Many people have been killed by mosquito-induced high fever and malaria, poor sanitary condition has also claimed scores of lives. The state is among the states contending with water scarcity. All these put together lead to vulnerability in the health sector. Again, Jibia is worst hit, because that is where I live. Water scarcity also has its multiplier effects in the man hour we spend searching for water. For example, my people in Jibia travel all the way to neighbouring border towns to fetch not-too-clean water when the dry season which is by the corner sets in. We are beneficiaries of the 171 bore holes that has been completed by the Shema administration to reduce our problem. I’m told other areas like ours have equally benefitted. This is a welcome intervention which we are asking the government to do more.
The government has admitted that the provision of infrastructure, among them health facilities, in the state has been not just Herculean, but not enough due to the lean resources at its disposal. It is however reassuring that more can be done if the priority to this all important sector is sustained. The rural areas are worst hit by poverty, nobody can dispute that. Like it was rightly pointed out above, the Federal Government that has more financial muscle than the states has a gory story to tell about its health care delivery. It means states cannot fare better because of the demands from different sectors. There is more demand from the health sector given that issues of health can never be relegated to the background. So whatever fund deployed in the direction of health care delivery cannot be said to be a waste. For a government that has in the last three and a half years prioritised health, all that was needed was encouragement.
The success of any medical delivery depends largely on the availability of highly skilled and resourceful manpower. Katsina State is also being challenged by the phenomenon of brain drain, which I believe the government is mitigating. What the Katsina state government needs from its people is understanding, so that whatever achievements were recorded by the Shema administration can be sustained. The government should not allow political considerations to cloud its judgment in taking the right decisions even if they prove to be unpopular.
Success in governance requires a great deal of political will to reduce the hardship faced by the people. This I believe is where a government derives its legitimacy to rule the people with their consent. The Katsina government to me is towing that path and should be encouraged.
Shehu wrote from Jibia, Katsina