Bandit attacks leave 40% of Sokoto East PHCs underperforming — Traditional ruler

Persistent insecurity has left about 40 per cent of primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Sokoto East operating below capacity, severely limiting access to healthcare services in affected communities, the Wamban Isa, Alhaji Nasiru Yahya Isa, has said.

Isa made the disclosure at the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), held over the weekend.

The conference, themed “Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria: Overcoming Access and Workforce Gap in the Face of Insecurity,” brought together policymakers, healthcare professionals and academics to discuss the impact of insecurity on healthcare delivery.

According to the traditional ruler, repeated bandit attacks have displaced residents from several communities, forcing them to abandon their homes, schools and health facilities for safer locations such as Sokoto and Isa towns.

He said the mass displacement had overstretched healthcare facilities in host communities while disrupting farming and other economic activities, deepening poverty and worsening sanitation challenges, including open defecation.

Isa urged the Federal Government, state governments and development partners to prioritise healthcare interventions in conflict-affected and hard-to-reach communities to ensure vulnerable populations have access to essential medical services.

Representing the Sultan of Sokoto at the event, the District Head of Wurno, Alhaji Muhammad Kabiru Cigari, called for innovative approaches to healthcare delivery in communities affected by insecurity.

He stressed the need for stakeholders to develop sustainable strategies that would guarantee access to quality healthcare despite the prevailing security challenges.

Also speaking, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Faruk Abubakar, highlighted the shortage and uneven distribution of healthcare workers across the state.

He said some urban primary healthcare centres have up to 80 health workers, while some rural facilities are run by only one healthcare personnel.

To address the imbalance, Abubakar said the state government had introduced a two-year compulsory service policy for health professionals trained under its scholarship programme to strengthen healthcare delivery in underserved communities.