The Abejukolo General Hospital in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State is in a dilapidated condition, a clear example of government lack of interest in funding healthcare delivery.
Mr. Yusuf Oyibo, a community resident, speaking to MAWA Foundation via a telephone conversation, said the hospital is meant to serve a huge number of residents, but because of its dilapidated nature, many of them now resort to Ayingba and Lokoja for medical care
Oyibo, also, narrated how two accident victims died in the hospital last week because there were no drugs and equipment that will help medical personnel to carry out treatment efficiently.
Besides lack of drugs and equipment, the hospital has no electricity, making health personnel carry out operations in dark at night.
Worse still, the Kogi state government in her 2021 budget approved N50 million for the Primary Healthcare Development Agency to purchase medical equipment and the sum of N31.5 billion for the office of the governor.
A breakdown of the 2021 budget that is published on the state website shows that the Primary Healthcare Development Agency got the approval of N50, 000,000 for the purchase of medical equipment, while the office of the governor got N31, 555,338,375 approvals.
This is even as the Kogi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency’s core mandate is to control preventable diseases, improve access to basic health services, and strengthen Primary Health Care (PHC) across communities in the 21 Local Government Areas.
This is even as visits by MAWA Foundation to some communities in Kogi, particularly in Lokoja-the state capital, Igalamela, Idah, Ofu, Ankpa, Anyigba, Dekina, show residents suffer grave healthcare inadequacy mainly as a result of dilapidated hospitals and lack of healthcare facilities.
Still, the Kogi state government, rather than invest in healthcare delivery, has put a meager amount of money into healthcare while allocating a huge amount that is almost the entire annual resources of the state to the office of the governor.
MAWA Foundation could not immediately reach out to the Kogi state government for a response.