Since the early 90s, residents of Runa community in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State have relied on Runa Primary Health Centre (PHC) for their health needs. However, the health facility can no longer cater to the health needs of the community members.
According to Ahmad Abubakar, a health worker in the PHC, the facility has been in a dilapidated state for many years. The issues are diverse: the entire building shows clear signs of long-term neglect and urgently needs a total facelift; the facility is too small to meet the needs of the community which has grown exponentially since the PHC was built; there is only one toilet in the facility, and it is barely functioning. Most worrying for Abubakar, however, is the lack of adequate health workers in the PHC. “I am a laboratory technician, but I am forced to play the roles of a doctor and a nurse, due to the inadequate manpower in the PHC”, he lamented.
Runa community leader, Gambo Runa who donated the land the PHC was built on, said the health facility cannot take care of his people due to the challenges it faces. “I am ready to donate additional land if the PHC can be expanded and provided with equipment’’, he said.
A Primary Healthcare Summit is scheduled to take place in Abuja on March 24 and 25, 2022. It is “geared towards launching a historic programme to transform the under-resourced, weak primary healthcare system in Nigeria…” As experts gather to deliberate on a solution which is aptly named: ‘Reimagining PHCs’, we urge them to think of the people of Runa community and others like them, who also deserve to have quality, accessible and affordable healthcare, no matter where they are.
Their asks are simple,
- Complete rehabilitation and expansion of Runa PHC
- Deploy more health workers to the PHC
- Reconstruct adequate toilets for the PHC
- Provide a dedicated water source
- Build a fence around the PHC