The alarming state of healthcare delivery in Kogi East has come under fresh scrutiny following revelations from a Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) report. The report exposed severe shortages of personnel, inadequate equipment, and poor infrastructure across several health facilities in the district. This has raised concerns about the quality of healthcare services available to residents in the area.
The CLM project was designed to independently assess the quality, accessibility, and availability of healthcare services, particularly in the areas of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other public health interventions. The initiative relies on routine feedback from service users and facility-level performance tracking to identify systemic gaps, co-develop solutions with healthcare providers, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
According to the Programme Officer of SAVE Initiative, Okai Mohammed Siaka, the monitoring team conducted visits to several communities across Kogi East, focusing on Primary Health Care (PHC) centres and general hospitals to evaluate existing conditions and identify areas requiring urgent attention. The advocacy effort involved key stakeholders, including representatives of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and Civil Society Organisations.
Findings from the exercise revealed widespread gaps in healthcare infrastructure, including shortage of personnel, lack of electricity, and absence of essential medical equipment, all of which have significantly hampered effective service delivery in the affected facilities. The report also identified poor security as a major concern, with several facilities lacking security personnel to safeguard medical equipment.
Specific cases highlighted the situation at General Hospital, Egume, as alarming, noting that the facility lacks basic equipment and suffers from a drastic shortage of personnel. There is no single drip stand in the general hospital Egume, very few beds, and most of the available mattresses are in poor condition. Only three nurses and one medical doctor are managing the hospital, which serves many adjoining communities.
The SAVE Initiative Programme Officer therefore called on the Kogi State Government to urgently intervene by upgrading health facilities, deploying more healthcare workers, and providing essential equipment to improve service delivery. The group appealed to the government to address these challenges, particularly at General Hospital Egume, PHC Egume, General Hospital Iyale, FSP PHC Felele, and PHC Agala.
Responding, the Chief Medical Director, Hospital Management Board, Kogi State, Dr Ayo Olayemi, commended SAVE Initiative for the monitoring of General Hospital and PHCs in Kogi East. He stated that the government is aware of the gaps in the health sector and promised to supply drip stands to Egume General Hospital as soon as possible and to also collaborate with relevant government agencies to address the issues at the PHCs in the State.
Key points
- The Kogi State Government has been urged to urgently intervene in the deteriorating state of healthcare facilities in Kogi East.
- A Community-Led Monitoring report has exposed severe shortages of personnel, inadequate equipment, and poor infrastructure across several health facilities in Kogi East, Nigeria.
- The situation at General Hospital, Egume, has been described as alarming, with a drastic shortage of personnel and lack of basic equipment.
