Gidan-Bijimi: FCT community where pregnant women travel 4km for care

Residents of Gidan-Bijimi community in Kawu Ward in Bwari Area Council of the FCT have expressed concern over the lack of healthcare facilities in their area, hence lamenting that patients, especially pregnant women, travel on motorcycle for over four kilometres to neighbouring Kawu village to access medical care. Speaking to Abuja Metro on Thursday, the […]

Residents of Gidan-Bijimi community in Kawu Ward in Bwari Area Council of the FCT have expressed concern over the lack of healthcare facilities in their area, hence lamenting that patients, especially pregnant women, travel on motorcycle for over four kilometres to neighbouring Kawu village to access medical care.

Speaking to Abuja Metro on Thursday, the residents noted the lack of medical services had been a persistent challenge for years.

A resident said a clinic which was built in the community over 18 years ago had ceased to function.

The residents attributed the closure of the clinic to lack of personnel and the fear of bandits’ attacks.

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Mr Bala Jatau, an elder, said, “The two health personnel working at the clinic some years back stopped coming when bandits began invading neighbouring villages in Kagarko LGA of Kaduna State. They were scared to travel from Kawu where they were based to our community.”

He said the closure of the clinic had forced patients, including women in labour, to embark on the risky journey to Kawu for treatment.

Mr. Thomas Waha Sarki, a retired community health worker, described the situation as a “nightmare”.

He said, “Since I retired over nine years ago, the clinic has become a shadow of itself. Because we share a boundary with Kaduna State, the threat of banditry has completely cut off our access to formal healthcare.”

Despite being retired, Sarki often treats minor ailments in the community to help his people.

However, he said complicated cases had to be rushed to Kawu or Kagarko on motorcycles.

He explained that, “The journey is over four kilometres on a very bad road. Yet, pregnant women have no option but to endure it to ensure safe delivery.”

He urged the Bwari Area Council to refurbish the clinic and deploy security-backed personnel.

The Village Head of Gidan-Bijimi, Paul Adamu, said the situation was most dire during the rainy season when the road to Kawu became nearly impassable.

He said, “If not for our retired health worker who attends to minor cases out of magnanimity, things would be much worse.

“When women go into labour, they have to be conveyed by motorcycle to Kawu or Kagarko.”

The chief also lamented a severe water crisis, saying the community’s only hand-pump borehole broke down over a year ago.

He, therefore, appealed to the Bwari Area Council to collaborate with security agencies in Abuja to establish a military base on the border of Gidan-Bijimi and Marke to curtail the movement of bandits crossing from Kaduna State.

He also requested the council to sink more boreholes to alleviate the water shortage.

An official in the Works Department of the Bwari Area Council, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our reporter that the council was aware of the abandoned health centre.

He said, “The council has already captured the refurbishment of the clinic and other villages under Kawu Ward in next year’s budget. The provision of boreholes has also been included.”

Regarding the request for a military base, the official said, “That is a security matter beyond my department, but I will relay the request to the special adviser on security, who will channel it to the council’s Chairman, John Gabaya.”