THE Oyo State Government has reacted to an International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) report on poor healthcare delivery in the state.
The report is titled ‘How ‘one PHC per ward’ policy affects healthcare delivery in Oyo State’.
In the in-depth report, The ICIR revealed how many residents, including expectant and nursing mothers, were denied efficient healthcare services in several communities.
An expectant mother, 35-year-old Oluchi Chioma, told The ICIR how her joy was cut short after the Awotan Orisun Healthcare Centre, Onigbaketun Awotan, in Ido Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, where she had registered for antenatal care, was closed down by the state government.
Lack of maintenance was the reason for the shutdown of the health facility, according the chairman of Onigbaketun community, Kola Ola.
“For years, there was no maintenance of the facility, and with the heavy downpour that was accompanied with strong wind recently, the roof was blown away, and the rain freely entered into the facility, destroying all the equipment, including the beds,” he said.
“Instead of fixing it, the Oyo State government decided to close the health facility about two months ago and ever since then, my people have been finding it difficult to access healthcare services.”
Reacting to the report on Monday, the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board blamed the condition of the health centres on years of neglect.
In a statement on Twitter, the agency said the state government was already renovating more than 300 health centres in the state.
renovated/upgraded/built.
The rest will be attended to once the current ones are completed.The facility was technically closed and only running immunizations services there once in a week as outreach service.
Apete PHC, already upgraded, is in the same ward with the facility— Oyo State Primary Health Care Board (@OyoPHC_board) October 24, 2022
You can reach out to me on Twitter via: vincent_ufuoma