Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Residents of Fika Local Government Area in Yobe State have raised urgent concerns over the deteriorating condition of the Lewe Primary Health Care centre, describing it as a facility that has become barely functional despite continuing reliance by surrounding communities for basic medical attention.
Community members and civil society voices say the facility, which was originally intended to serve as a frontline healthcare access point, is now in a state of severe neglect, lacking essential infrastructure, functional equipment, and adequate staffing required to deliver even minimum primary healthcare services.
The appeal, directed to Governor Mai Mala Buni and federal health authorities including the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, highlights growing frustration among residents who say repeated reliance on the facility despite its condition has placed vulnerable patients at significant risk.
It also references local representatives and stakeholders who have been urged to intervene, including elected officials from the area, as calls intensify for urgent reconstruction and upgrading of the health centre to restore essential services to the community.
Primary healthcare facilities across Nigeria often serve as the first point of contact for rural populations seeking medical assistance, yet many such centres face persistent challenges including inadequate funding, shortage of personnel, and deteriorating infrastructure, particularly in hard to reach communities such as parts of Yobe State.
According to residents, the Lewe PHC currently operates under conditions described as unsafe and unfit for service delivery, with reports indicating absence of beds, limited or non-existent laboratory capacity, and a lack of essential medical consumables, leaving many patients with no option but to travel long distances to access care.
This situation has triggered renewed calls for intervention directed at state and federal authorities, including Governor Mai Mala Buni, federal lawmaker Hon Mohammed Buba Jajere, Senator Ibrahim Muhammad Bomai, and Hon Audu Bukar Gadaka, who have been urged by constituents to prioritise healthcare rehabilitation in the area.
Attention has also been drawn to federal health agencies, particularly the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, as stakeholders insist that coordinated intervention is required to prevent further deterioration and restore basic healthcare delivery in the community.
The absence of functional primary healthcare services in rural communities such as Lewe has been linked by observers to increased health risks, delayed treatment outcomes, and preventable complications, particularly among children, pregnant women, and elderly residents who rely heavily on nearby health posts.
In many instances, rural health centres across northern Nigeria operate below minimum standards due to long standing infrastructure decay, limited maintenance funding, and irregular staffing, a situation that continues to undermine national primary healthcare objectives and community health outcomes.
Local residents have expressed concern that repeated appeals for rehabilitation of the facility have not resulted in sustained improvement, leaving the community dependent on a structure that no longer meets basic health service requirements.
Health sector stakeholders note that primary healthcare revitalisation remains a key component of Nigeria’s broader health policy framework, with agencies at federal and state levels mandated to ensure operational functionality of PHC centres through funding, staffing, and infrastructure support mechanisms.
In Yobe State, like several other northern states, primary healthcare facilities have faced recurring challenges over the years, with rural communities often reporting shortages of trained personnel, inadequate maintenance budgets, and delayed government interventions that affect service delivery.
The latest appeal from Fika residents reflects growing urgency, as community members stress that immediate reconstruction of the Lewe PHC is necessary to prevent further deterioration of health outcomes and reduce preventable deaths in the area.
Observers further argue that effective primary healthcare delivery is essential for achieving universal health coverage goals, particularly in rural regions where alternative medical facilities are limited and transportation barriers often delay access to emergency care.
The deteriorating condition of the Lewe PHC has also been linked to increased out-of-pocket healthcare spending for residents, who are often forced to seek treatment in private clinics or distant hospitals.
Public health experts continue to call for comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s primary healthcare system, including improved funding allocation, better staffing structures, and stronger accountability mechanisms to ensure facilities remain functional.
Stakeholders emphasize that sustainable improvement will require collaboration between federal, state, and local governments, as well as active participation from communities to monitor and maintain healthcare infrastructure.
The situation in Fika underscores broader challenges facing rural healthcare delivery across Nigeria, where thousands of primary health centres remain under-resourced despite their critical role in preventing disease outbreaks and ensuring basic health coverage.
Community leaders reiterate that without urgent government intervention, facilities like Lewe PHC will continue to deteriorate, placing additional pressure on already overstretched secondary and tertiary health institutions in the state.
Authorities at various levels are being urged to prioritise immediate assessment of the facility, deploy emergency rehabilitation measures, and ensure that essential medical personnel and equipment are provided without delay to restore basic healthcare services to the affected population.
Residents maintain that restoring the Lewe PHC is not only a matter of infrastructure but also a critical step toward safeguarding public health, reducing preventable deaths, and improving trust in government health interventions across rural communities in Fika Local Government Area.
Health analysts say that strengthening primary healthcare systems in rural Nigeria will require sustained political commitment, increased budgetary allocation, and effective monitoring of projects to ensure facilities deliver services as intended. They say that when such centres become non-functional, the burden shifts disproportionately to families facing economic challenges and limited access to transportation. In the case of Fika, residents argue that immediate reconstruction of the Lewe PHC would restore confidence in public healthcare delivery and reduce reliance on distant medical facilities during emergencies. They further stress that timely intervention would reduce pressure on secondary hospitals and improve trust in government health systems across rural communities in the region overall.
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