Category: South West

Three of every four Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Osun State are understaffed.

A development expert says this poses serious risks to health care delivery and public health outcomes in the state.

Findings from a recent report by CheckMyPHC.org, a central platform that aggregates and analyses primary health care data nationwide, revealed that 73 per cent of PHCs in Osun State lacked adequate personnel to function effectively.

The report noted that Osun State had over 600 PHCs, with about 332 designated as focal centres, but more than 90 per cent remained understaffed and poorly equipped.

It says the state currently requires approximately 9,000 additional health workers, but no significant recruitment efforts have been carried out by the government.

According to the data, 73 per cent of PHCs in Osun State operated with only zero to one health worker, while 44 per cent had no workers at all, meaning nearly three of every four facilities are unable to provide basic health care services.

Beyond manpower shortages, the report highlighted infrastructural deficiencies across many centres. Several PHCs were found to lack clean water, functional toilets and basic hygiene materials, making effective patient care extremely difficult.

It further revealed that in many facilities visited, nurses and patients depended on well water or other unsafe sources for deliveries, sterilisation and hand-washing, raising concerns about infection control and patients’ safety.

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National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NHPCDA) said the minimum standard for PHCs in Nigeria should include a minimum of 10 workers, who included a doctor, nurses/midwives, community health officer, CHEW, pharmacy technician, Junior CHEW, environmental officer, medical records officer and laboratory technician.

However, public health experts have warned that the persistent understaffing of PHCs has far-reaching consequences for individuals, communities and the overall health system in Osun State.

They said the crisis was deepened by the dismissal of over 2,000 health workers recruited by the administration of the former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

They said despite the dismissal of the health workers, no replacement had been made to date by the Adeleke administration to remedy the situation.

They say when health facilities are short of personnel, patients receive inadequate attention, consultations become rushed, diagnoses may be inaccurate, and the quality of treatment declines.

They said weak staffing undermined disease prevention, surveillance and community outreach, since PHCs served as the first point of contact for health education and early disease detection.

Speaking on the situation, the President of Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), Dr Austine Aipoh, attributed the crisis to poor working conditions, insecurity and unstable power supply.

He said: ‘’Once young health care professionals acquire some experience, many leave in search of better opportunities.

“This hits all levels, be it primary health centres, general hospitals, teaching hospitals and even private facilities. It’s a crisis. The government must act to keep our doctors here and encourage ‘Japada’.

“Beyond pay, insecurity, poor social services and no reliable electricity drive nurses away. That’s why primary health centres are often empty.”

Aipoh said the situation had grave implications for ordinary citizens, especially those in rural communities, who relied on public health facilities.

“The consequences are clear. Nigeria’s health stats will keep worsening. They’re already bad. If over half of our trained doctors leave, we’ll never hit our 2030 universal health coverage goal.

“The health of ordinary people will suffer most. The rich can afford private hospitals, but the poor, especially in rural areas like Osun, will be left with understaffed primary centres meant to bring care to every corner.

“What I expect from the government: Show willpower. Fix electricity for health care, boost security, and build affordable social infrastructure. If they can earn well, live safely and thrive at home, many will stay. After all, home is home, no matter how good things are elsewhere,” he said.

Corroborating these concerns, a member of Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Osun State chapter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said long waiting hours at PHCs discouraged residents from seeking care.

He added that maternal and child mortality rates were rising in the state due to the absence of skilled personnel at facilities meant to serve as the first point of care.

“Skilled workers like midwives and nurses are absent and this results in poor antenatal care, unsafe deliveries and delayed emergency response.

“Also, available workers become overburdened, leading to fatigue, stress, burnout and low morale, further worsening staff shortages. Also, some essential services such as immunisation, family planning, laboratory tests and emergency care are unavailable or offered irregularly due to a lack of personnel.”

The health worker warned that disease outbreaks might go undetected or poorly managed due to inadequate surveillance capacity at the grassroots level.

“Understaffed PHCs in Osun State struggle with health education, outreach programmes and disease monitoring, which can lead to late detection of outbreaks,” he said.