Residents of the Wadata Kasuwa community in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State are dying because they do not have a hospital facility that can deliver healthcare to them.
On a visit to the community that is a few kilometers away from Jos the Plateau state capital, one sees a building that has the exact resemblance to a Kiosk that serves as the only hospital in the community.
The hospital that looks terribly dilapidated was built by the community and has only one medical personnel.
MAWA learned that the community came together and built the hospital to address deaths recorded, especially pregnant women and children for non health facilities.
Worse still, Wadata Kasuwa community is hometown to Mr. Ahmed Wase, the Deputy Speaker – of Nigeria’s House of Representatives.
Community residents who spoke to Tracka officials narrated how they are dying, mostly pregnant women and children because there is no hospital to provide effective healthcare.
“Our people are dying because there is no health centre. Many pregnant women have either died or lost their children because they deliver at home. We contributed small money to build this place, we called the government to come and help us but they have given us nothing.” – Dauda, a community resident said.
This is the situation in Wadata Kasuwa community, even as the Plateau State government in 2020 claimed to have spent the sum of N563.9 million on direct healthcare intervention. An amount that is yet to show impact on the community health improvement.
Under the deal, the Plateau State in her 2020 budget performance report shows the sum of N333, 000,000.00 was approved for the Plateau State Primary Health Care Development Agency and N230, 900,000.00 for the Plateau State Contributory Health Care Management Agency, making a total of N563, 900,000 been expended by the state government on direct health intervention with the locals as the primary target.
What is not clear is how the Plateau State government had spent N563.9 million on direct health intervention in 2020 alone, and virtually all the rural communities in the state have a collapsed health system.
Plateau state is not the only offender, in Nigeria, evidence has shown over the years that governments at the federal, state and local levels are not interested in providing an effective healthcare system which is why the collapse in the health sector is apparent and needs urgent intervention.
MAWA Foundation could not immediately reach out to the Plateau State government for an official response.