Health is wealth; it is a saying that is very popular among our people, and it is true that health is wealth. It is when you are healthy that you can do things.
Unfortunately, in this part of the world, our people are in need of proper medication, which is lacking due to insufficient medical facilities and personnel.
And where you have health facilities, most of them are in bad shape.
This is the case of Mokwa, the headquarters of Mokwa Local Government. The town is the fifth biggest in Niger State. Its location is very strategic; it is the gateway between the southern and northern parts of Nigeria.
Mokwa General Hospital was established in 1986. It is one of the biggest hospitals in Niger State. Unfortunately, the hospital is in a deplorable state, with insufficient medical personnel.
The hospital needs quick intervention from the Niger State government. All the structures are in bad shape; most of the roofs are leaking. Sixteen nurses were transferred to other hospitals without replacement.
The hospital used to have two corps members and six permanent medical doctors. But today, the hospital is left with only 2 medical doctors. This is a hospital that receives more than 100 accident victims in some days due to its location.
The hospital’s mortuary and generator set have been vandalised by scavengers due to poor security. The hospital has no fence, making it vulnerable to scavengers.
Whenever there is no power supply from PHCN, activities in the hospital stop.
The laboratory is also not in good condition. Our prayer to the Niger State government and other health agencies is for total overhaul. It should be fenced and the laboratory should be equipped.
More doctors and other medical personnel should be deployed to the hospital with immediate effect. The pharmaceutical store should be stocked with more drugs, and the road leading to the hospital should be renovated.
It is time the state government did the needful. We also seek help from health donors to rescue the people as lives are being lost on a daily basis due to the deplorable state of the hospital.
Usman Gana, for Mokwa Community
