Lagos State Advocacy Team on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) has called on communities in Ejirin area of Epe Local Government to take greater ownership of their primary health care centres (PHCs), rather than waiting for government intervention.
The appeal was made during an advocacy visit led by the Lagos State Coordinator of the TB Network and the team lead for the ATM coordinators, Mrs. Meg Aipoh.
The ATM initiative is coordinated by three civil society coalitions known as ATM Networks: the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), the Tuberculosis (TB) Network, and the Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN).
Supported by Global Fund, the project is being implemented across 21 states in Nigeria, including Lagos, with the goal of strengthening health systems and improving the country’s response to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
Aipoh urged community leaders to take ownership of primary health care centres (PHCs) in their communities to ensure sustainability and better service delivery.
She said the project was being implemented in five local government areas of the state, with three community-based organisations (CBOs) working in each council to drive grassroots impact.
Aipoh, addressing the Adetoyese Elejinrin of Ejirin Kingdom, Oba Rafiu Balogun and some of his kinsmen and women, said the primary goal of the intervention was to strengthen PHCs and encourage participation of community members in identifying and solving challenges facing the facilities.
“The project is basically to strengthen primary health centres in Lagos State and ensure community members take ownership. Government cannot do everything. Government can build, but maintenance often becomes a problem. This is why we are involving the communities to take ownership and get them engaged in resolving issues identified in their PHCs,” she said.
She noted that over the years, poor maintenance culture had affected the functionality of PHCs, leading to gaps in health care delivery.
The new strategy, she said, seeks to build accountability, awareness and responsibility at the community level to ensure facilities are not abandoned or neglected.
The state coordinator stressed that when communities became proactive in maintaining their health care centres, it not only ensured the centres remained functional, but also reduced the burden on the government.
Reacting, Oba Balogun raised the alarm over what he described as decades of abandonment, lamenting that successive governments at the federal, state and local levels had failed to bring meaningful development to his community.
The monarch lamented that since the creation of Lagos State in 1967, the community had not felt the impact of government in any meaningful way.
“Between 1967 and now, there is no government presence of any type in Ejirin, not even local government presence. The community has no medical facility, no social services, nothing at all,” Oba Balogun said.
The traditional ruler said he shouldered the responsibility of providing water for his people, spending huge amounts to pump borehole water for community use.
“I am the one giving water to my community. I spend a lot of money to pump the borehole just to make sure people have water to drink. The condition is bad. What we want is for government at all levels to come and develop Ejirin,” he added.
The Ekerin of Ejirin, Chief Lateef Akinyemi, recalled that the only government intervention the community ever experienced was a water scheme initiated during the second term of former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu. However, the scheme collapsed when the supply of diesel was discontinued, leaving the community without access to clean water.
The Ejirin Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), meant to cater for the health needs of residents, is also in a deplorable state.
Investigations showed that the PHC has no midwife, no comfortable chairs for health workers, and is housed in a dilapidated building with broken ceilings. The only functional equipment is a solar-powered refrigerator provided by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for vaccine preservation.
Currently, the PHC is manned by just two nurses, two community health workers, one environmental officer, a health attendant, and a pharmacy technician — grossly inadequate for the population it is meant to serve.
Oba Balogun said Ejirin people are not asking for luxury, but for the essentials every Nigerian community deserves.
“We need water. We need functional health care. We need social services. Government should not forget us,” he said.
The State Programme Officer for Civil Society for the eradication of TB Network in Nigeria on C19RM project, Mr. Taiwo Adakan, said the visit was prompted by challenges identified at the PHC by community-based organisations (CBOs) implementing the C19RM project in Ejirin community.
The challenges, he said, ranged from poor awareness and misconceptions about health care services, to weak community participation in sustaining PHC infrastructure.
“Money meant for primary health centres sometimes gets misused because communities remain silent. By creating awareness, we are helping residents to demand accountability from government and ensure facilities work for them,” he added.
During the visit to Oloritun in Erepoto area of Epe, the team identified additional concerns, including poor lighting at PHCs, lack of burglary-proof security for facilities, and cases of gender-based violence (GBV).
The programme officer said the project was not only about health service delivery, but also about strengthening community systems.
“Our goal is to empower communities to protect their PHCs, demand accountability and contribute resources where necessary. This is how we can achieve lasting impact,” he said.
Responding, a community leader at Oloritun in Erepoto, Chief Arijaya, appealed to government and stakeholders to come to the aid of Orepoto Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), which he said is in urgent need of support to meet the health needs of residents.
“I want to call on my people in the community and relevant authorities to support this programme so that we can progress in improving the centre. Government cannot do it alone. The PHC is here for us, but it needs our contributions and attention to grow,” he said.
