Residents of Geregu community in the Ajaokuta area of Kogi state have continued to battle the challenge of accessing good healthcare delivery as the only government hospital in their area has since collapsed.
This is even as the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Zonal Intervention Project (ZIP) in 2021 approved the sum of N50 million for the construction and furnishing of the Primary Healthcare Centre in the community.
And despite the approval, the community hospital continues to be in a deplorable condition as the government agency in charge of the project has since abandoned it.
A visit to the community hospital shows how patients are receiving treatment under leaking roofs that zinks are already rusted, depicting how dilapidated the hospital has become.
The project that is been supervised by the National Centre for Women Development has since been abandoned.
It is not, however, clear how the National Centre for Women Development, an agency established with a clear mandate for women’s training and empowerment got involved in the construction of a hospital that is completely off its mandate.
This is even as the Nigerian state has the National Primary Health Development Agency, which has the core mandate on issues regarding Primary Healthcare across the country.
Mrs. Patricia, a community resident while speaking to MAWA-Foundation described the hospital as hugely deplorable.
According to her, the hospital has continued to be in a terrible condition for a very long time, leaving the residents to suffer from inadequate healthcare delivery.
“We have had this hospital this deplorable for a long time, many of us who do not have money to seek medical care at Lokoja, go to the hospital, if you are lucky you make it,” Patricia told MAWA.
Tracka, a public accountability organization that exposed the terrible nature of the hospital has since appealed to the Kogi state government and the National Primary Health Development Agency to work in ensuring the hospital is fixed.
MAWA-Foundation could not immediately reach out to the National Centre for Women’s Development for an official response.