By Isaac Olufemi Ojo
In a renewed bid to reposition primary healthcare delivery and improve maternal health outcomes in Oyo State, the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) convened a stakeholder town hall meeting in Ibadan, the state capital, on Thursday, where health champions detailed challenges across various Primary Healthcare centres (PHCs).
Held at the JDPC office in the Bashorun area, the event was implemented under the SPARK (Strengthening Accountability and Resilience in Knowledge) project, funded by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
The gathering, which served as a feedback mechanism for the SPARK initiative, gave community health champions a platform to highlight bottlenecks hindering effective healthcare delivery across PHCs in the state.
The ICIR reports that the health champions flagged several critical concerns, including unruly behaviour and unprofessional conduct by some health workers toward patients. Others included unjustified hikes in healthcare service fees and medication prices, as well as caregivers extorting patients during critical emergencies.
The most crucial points remained severe shortages of qualified personnel during critical hours, leading to avoidable tragedies and patient fatalities, and a lack of confidentiality at some PHCs.
During the event, a health champion, Lydia Adeshina from Egbeda Local Government Area, decried what she described as the avoidable death of an expectant mother at the Alakia PHC on Wednesday, the 21st of October 2026.
She said the expectant mother arrived at the centre the previous night before developing severe complications after childbirth around 4:00 am. However, the health champion blamed caregivers for delaying her referral to another healthcare facility where she could be supported.
Another champion, Gbolagade Raimi from Oluyole Local Government Area, narrated another painful experience. He alleged that a child who was recently brought in to access care at Adaramoko PHC lost his life due to alleged incompetence of the caregiver on duty to set up oxygen procedures.
While responding on behalf of other Medical Officers of Health (MOH) present at the meeting, Dr Alabi Aderonke, the Medical Officer of Health for Lagelu Local Government Authority, lauded the JDPC, noting that the forum would help bridge communication gaps between residents and the state’s health sector.
Dr Aderonke acknowledged that most of the feedback was valid even though some was unverified, and assured stakeholders of their readiness to collaborate with Ward Development Committee (WDC) champions to change the narrative.
The Head of Democracy and Governance at JDPC, Mr Jide Bamgbose, clarified that the town hall was not intended to witch-hunt or embarrass stakeholders, but rather to foster quality service delivery across all state PHCs.
He urged the government to treat healthcare as a vital social service to humanity rather than a profit-driven enterprise.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), Dr Olusola Akande, emphasised that the gathering was critical to improving state healthcare.
He encouraged medical officers to view the platform as an opportunity to receive firsthand feedback and recommended that the town hall become a quarterly event. Dr Akande further charged medical personnel to urgently address staff attitude, service costs, and medication pricing.
Earlier, Mrs Adedeji Romoke, representing the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Babatunde Olatunji, assured participants that the challenges highlighted during the meeting would be addressed promptly.