‘Insecurity cripples 40% of primary healthcare centres in Sokoto East’

Persistent insecurity has forced about 40 per cent of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across Sokoto East to operate below capacity, worsening access to healthcare and threatening efforts to achieve universal health coverage, the Wamban Isa, Alhaji Nasiru Yahya Isa, has said. Speaking at the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the College of Health Sciences, Usmanu […]

Persistent insecurity has forced about 40 per cent of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across Sokoto East to operate below capacity, worsening access to healthcare and threatening efforts to achieve universal health coverage, the Wamban Isa, Alhaji Nasiru Yahya Isa, has said.

Speaking at the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) held at the weekend, Isa said sustained bandit attacks had forced many communities to abandon their homes, schools and health facilities, with residents relocating to safer towns such as Sokoto and Isa.

The conference, themed “Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria: Overcoming Access and Workforce Gap in the Face of Insecurity,” brought together policymakers, health professionals and academics to examine the challenges facing the country’s health sector.

He said the displacement of residents had overstretched healthcare facilities in safer communities while worsening poverty, disrupting farming and commercial activities, and contributing to poor sanitation, including open defecation.

He urged governments and development partners to prioritise healthcare delivery in hard-to-reach and conflict-affected communities to ensure that no one is left behind.

Representing the Sultan of Sokoto, the District Head of Wurno,  Alh. Muhammad Kabiru Cigari, also called for innovative strategies to extend healthcare services to underserved communities affected by insecurity.

Also speaking, Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Dr Faruk Abubakar, said the state was grappling with an uneven distribution of healthcare workers, with some urban PHCs having as many as 80 personnel while some rural facilities operate with only one health worker.

He said the state government had introduced a two-year compulsory service policy for health professionals trained under state scholarship programmes to address the manpower gap.