Rural community hospital in Nasarwa state has continued to be in a deplorable condition after the state government claims to have spent the sum of N12 billion on health last year.
Despite huge sum of money, the government claims to have spent on health in 2021, residents of Oversea, a community in Nasarawa Local Government Area cannot access healthcare, as the only hospital in the area has since collapsed.
Describing the situation, Mr. Ahmed, a community resident, says the inhabitants are going through hell to access healthcare as a result of a dilapidated hospital. He, however, narrated how the residents travel over 50 kilometres in Keffi to access healthcare.
Another community resident, Mrs. Rose Aku, narrated how she had lost relatives on the way to a better hospital when the primary health care cannot provide adequate healthcare and referred patients to other hospitals.
Worse still, she disclosed that healthcare has no structure, and because of the importance of healthcare to the community, a resident gave his house to be used as a hospital.
She disclosed that the community is at the risk of losing the hospital as the owner of the building they operate from has since given them a quit notice because he wants to use his property.
She said although there is a government building in the community that got burnt, they had approached the government to renovate it for a primary health care centre using communal efforts, but unfortunately, they are yet to get approval.
The community residents say the Primary Health Care will cease to operate if the quit notice elapses and they did not find a place to use and operate.
A health worker in the hospital speaking on the condition they work, said the clinic is highly underfunded and appealed to the Nasarawa State government to help fund the clinic while pointing out, that it is the only hospital the entire community residents depend on for healthcare delivery.
The hospital needs a permanent structure, personnel, and equipment, a demand they are appealing to the Nasarawa State government to help them achieve.
Worse still N524.461 million was allocated for the construction and provision of hospitals, health facilities. And, despite the allocation, Oversea community hospital continues to be in a terrible deplorable condition.
Also, in the same year, N410 million was allocated for the rehabilitation and renovation of health centres across the state. And, yet, community hospitals across communities in the state continue to be in deplorable condition.