Theirs is not lack of facilities as Jigawa State boasts a number of medical facilities even at the grassroots, but the problem is that the facilities have far too few personnel and too little equipment and drugs to be of much help to the residents.
 
Buji Local Government Area with a population of 92,371, made up of crop farmers and Fulani herdsmen, is an example. Its headquarters, Gantsa, hosts local, state and even federal agencies such the police and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.
 
The sore point, though, is that its health centres ar e essentially dysfunctional due to lack of human and  material resources.
 
Gantsa has a 22-bed capacity hospital sited in a strategic location the town but it is managed by only two persons who boast Community Health Workers qualifications.
 
The 22-bed capacity facility, recently renovated, caters to over 18 villages and so many Fulani settlements.
 
Investigations conducted by our reporter revealed that a substantial  number of patients particularly expectant women and children attend the hospital every day for ante-natal and post-natal care, while other patients also visit the hospital for their health needs.
 
Our reporter was in the clinic to  cover an event organised by some communities in the local government area under the aegis of the Wards Development Committee (WDC) supported by Save the Children, a non-governmental organisation.
 
Read more at http://thenationonlineng.net/jigawa-health-centres-personnel/