Inside FCT one-bed health centre

Residents of the Agweh community in Kwaku ward of Kuje Area Council, FCT, have expressed concern over the shortage of bed space at the local clinic. During a visit by Abuja Metro on Tuesday, residents complained that the clinic has only one bed.  This single piece of furniture, they said, serves all patients, including pregnant […]

Residents of the Agweh community in Kwaku ward of Kuje Area Council, FCT, have expressed concern over the shortage of bed space at the local clinic.

During a visit by Abuja Metro on Tuesday, residents complained that the clinic has only one bed. 

This single piece of furniture, they said, serves all patients, including pregnant women during checkups and labour.

The situation often worsens when three or four patients arrive simultaneously seeking urgent care. 

Usman Adamu, a community member, told our reporter that some patients are forced to be treated on mats due to the lack of space.

“Even in emergencies, especially during disease outbreaks, patients find it nearly impossible to secure a bed to be attended to by medical personnel,” Adamu said.

Beyond the lack of beds, the health center itself is in a state of advanced decay. 

Adamu noted that the ceilings and other parts of the facility have been in a poor state for years. 

According to him, the facility has not seen a single renovation since it was built over 18 years ago during the administration of the former council chairman, Senator Usman Jibrin Wowo.

“As you can see, this center was built during Senator Wowo’s time. That was nearly two decades ago, and nothing has been done to maintain it since,” he added.

Another resident, Dantani Musa, highlighted the lack of basic medical supplies, stating that the clinic is consistently out of drugs. 

Patients are often given prescriptions and forced to travel by motorcycle to the neighboring Kwaku village to purchase medicine, he said.

“In many cases, the only medical staff uses his own money to stock drugs, and patients reimburse him after treatment,” Musa said. He also revealed a shocking staffing shortage.

The clinic, he said, has no official staff or nurses. Instead, a single volunteer—a native of the community—manages the entire facility and treats all patients.

Shuaibu Danjuma, a community leader, noted that while the clinic was sufficient when built 20 years ago, the population has grown significantly.

“It is hard to imagine a clinic with only one bed serving this entire area. With the population growth, this facility should have been expanded long ago,” Danjuma said. 

He added that the clinic serves not only Agweh but also four neighboring villages and local Fulani settlements.

Danjuma appealed to the Kuje Area Council authorities and the incoming chairman to liaise with the FCT Administration to build a modern, standard health center.

Water scarcity aggravates hardship

The community leader also raised the alarm over the lack of potable water. 

Agweh relies entirely on hand-dug wells, as there are no functional boreholes or overhead tanks provided by the government.

“Our women depend on well water or must trek long distances to the stream to fetch water,” he said. 

Musa joined the appeal, urging the council to prioritize sinking a borehole to alleviate the community’s water crisis.

Reacting to these complaints, a senior official from the council’s Works Department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the council has captured the renovation of the health center and the sinking of a borehole in its current budget for Agweh and the surrounding villages.