By Nura Haruna Mudi
Five years after a torrential rainstorm collapsed the only health center in Kwasauri community in the Dambatta local government area of Kano State, the facility has remained grounded until now.
Kwasauri Health Center, despite its limited facilities, served seven settlements outside its host community before its sudden collapse in 2019 due to a torrential rainstorm.
There is currently not a single health facility in the area for thousands of residents of these settlements, including Kanwaye, Kunyawa, Kunyawa Fulani, Dungurumi, Dungun Malamai, Sankarawa Lamin-tani, and ‘Dan-Gado.
The development prompted a sole worker of the health center, Abdulsalam Nasir Alhassan, to be treating patients inside the classrooms of a nearby primary school or attending to the patients under trees during school hours.
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The treatment under the trees only lasts for a few hours before the scorching sun or rain surface, depending on the condition of the weather.
Due to these inconsistent skeletal services, the primary healthcare center in Dambatta, over 20 kilometers away, is the next available option for child delivery and other urgent medical needs for the residents of Kwasauri community and its environs.
The villagers said the situation is complicating the high maternal and infant mortality rates in the area.
Hajara Kwasauri, one of the residents, shares the tragic loss of her sister, Haule Yusha’u, in 2020 due to complications occasioned by prolonged labour.
“I lost my sister a few years ago after she gave birth. It took us several hours to get a car to carry her to Dambatta Hospital. This compounded her suffering, and we eventually lost her and her baby due to prolonged labour.”
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Umaru Usman, a guard at the Kwasauri primary school, also witnessed how one Jummai, another pregnant woman, delivered her baby beside the collapsed Kwakauri health center debris in 2021.
Usman reported that the woman died shortly after delivery while being rushed to Dambatta for postnatal checks.
“There was a time a pregnant woman in labour arrived at this health center without knowing that the facility had collapsed; she gave birth beside the debris, and she eventually lost her baby.
“I remember a case of another pregnant woman who came here for delivery. We later assisted her and rushed her to Dambatta Hospital. She also died thereafter due to complications.” Usman lamented.
Besides, Grassroots Parrot observed that the school of just two classrooms being used as an alternative for the health center is unsuitable for learning due to a lack of chairs and a termite infestation on its dilapidated ceiling.
The school’s single structure, consisting of two classrooms, is worsened by the presence of six classes, with 1-3 students in the first classroom and 4-6 students in the second.
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Abdulsalam Nasir Alhassan, the officer in charge of the Kwasauri health center, highlighted challenges in attending to patients due to school scheduling and limited access to the community during rainy seasons.
“For four years, I’ve been the only health worker in Kwasauri, braving the rainy season to provide care.
“With the help of the head teacher, I am treating patients in the school, and the community has rallied behind me, urging me to continue my work despite the odds.”
Kabiru Abdullahi Kwasauri, a community executive, expressed frustration over the neglect of their plea to rebuild the health center five years after its collapse.
“The absence of a health center in this community is making life too hard for us. Whenever our people are sick, the journey to Dambatta is difficult due to the deplorable state of our roads.
Despite our several appeals to various stakeholders, including local government, state government, and federal lawmakers, nothing has been done about it.
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We continue to plead with them to intervene and do the needful so that we can have access to quality healthcare.” He said.
When contacted, Dr. Bashir Sanusi, Director of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, stated that Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has a robust plan to revamp the state’s health sector’s infrastructure.
“Our governor is mindful of performance for result. We had written 21 memos in respect of some of these interventions, and the state government is injecting a huge amount of money into the health sector, unlike our previous experience.
“We have already identified some of these facilities that require urgent attention, and the Kwasauri case may be one of them. I can assure you that the situation will be addressed as soon as we get approval.” He said.
Dr. Sanusi promised that the board would include Kwasauri Health Center in the list of facilities selected for emergency attention in the state.
This came as Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf inaugurated the first round of the 2024 Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health Week (MNCHW) on Saturday, July 26, 2024, to improve health indices through focused preventive and curative interventions that enable mothers and children to thrive and develop.
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Recently, the governor also approved over one billion naira during the 15th state executive council meeting to “improve healthcare access and quality for all residents of Kano as his administration’s second priority area.”
The state government also surpassed the Abuja declaration of 15% allocation of budget by dedicating 17% of its annual budget to the health sector. Even though the release of funds for implementation is challenging,.
While these gestures are commendable, the expectations of the state residents are high on how the funds will be timely released and judiciously utilized to address the plight of people in the Kwasauri community and other areas in dire need of healthcare attention in the state.
