Kebbi Health Centre in Ruins, Endangering Pregnant Women and Children
The Unguwan Jeji Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Birnin Kebbi, located directly opposite the Federal University Birnin Kebbi, has deteriorated into a life-threatening facility for the residents it is meant to serve.
The centre, designed to cater to over 5,000 people, is now riddled with structural defects. Cracked walls, a sagging ceiling, and a collapsing roof have made it hazardous for both patients and medical staff. During rainfall, the building floods, rendering essential areas like consultation rooms unusable.
Local residents, especially pregnant women, nursing mothers, and elderly citizens, now avoid the centre entirely. Those who cannot afford transportation to far-off hospitals are left to gamble with their lives in the crumbling facility.
A civic tech platform, Monitng, has raised alarm over the dire state of the centre and urged the Kebbi State Government to intervene urgently. The platform noted that the health centre lacks basic medical equipment, essential supplies, and sufficient staff. The few available health workers struggle to operate under unsafe and inhumane conditions.
Despite being situated near a federal university and serving a young, growing population, the Unguwan Jeji PHC has suffered years of neglect. Monitng emphasized that this neglect is unacceptable and that immediate steps must be taken not just to renovate the building but to equip it properly and staff it adequately.
In a passionate appeal to Governor Nasir Idris, Monitng insisted that quality healthcare is a right, not a privilege. The group called for urgent action to prevent potential tragedy. The health and lives of the people in Unguwan Jeji and surrounding communities, including students from the Federal University, should not depend on the integrity of a collapsing roof.
