Jigawa, a rural community in the Warawa Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State has a health post that provides healthcare services to residents. Health posts are designed to bring quality healthcare closer to rural community members. However, the health post in this community is not operating as it should as residents must sit on the floor when they access care at the facility. According to Sulaiman Isyaku, the focal person of the health post, this affects both clients and staff. Even pregnant women are not spared the indignity as they must sit on the floor during their antenatal visits.
He pointed out other factors hindering service delivery at the facility: most of the windows are broken which violates the privacy of clients especially women on antenatal visits, the roof is also in a bad state of disrepair which exposes staff and clients to rainfall. There is no source of water supply as the borehole has been broken down for a long time. According to Samira Abubakar, the officer in charge of antenatal services, the facility needs a perimeter fence to ensure the safety of both staff and clients.
A community member, Habiba Muhammad, said while women like her who are not pregnant can make do with sitting on the floor, it poses a difficulty for pregnant women. “It is appalling to see them sitting like that. Sometimes they remove their shoes and sit on them,” she said.
Everyone must be able to access healthcare in dignity. A place to sit comfortably while waiting to be attended to or while being attended to is a requirement for quality delivery of healthcare services, more so for pregnant women. For Jigawa community members to access healthcare in some form of comfort, they are asking for,
- Provision of comfortable seats and benches for staff and clients at the health facility
- Fencing the health facility to ensure safety of clients and health workers
- Fixing of the borehole at the health facility
- Fixing of the broken windows and roof at the health facility