World Toilet day: Inside Nigeria’s Primary Health Centre open defecation practice

By Bisola Adeyemo and Nneka Nwogwugwu

Lupma Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in a rural community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State has only two health workers with patients practising open defecation due to lack of toilets in the hospital.

Fati Bawa, who brought her child for immunization, lamented that the biggest challenge in the PHC is lack of toilets and water.

“Only one woman is taking care of immunization, delivery, family planning and antenatal in this facility.

“Anytime there are high numbers of women and children in the PHC, they end up waiting for over six hours to be attended to,” she said.

Nigeria Health Watch reports that lack of water in the health centre makes relatives of patient embark on a one-kilometre journey to get water when women are giving birth.

In addition to Fati Bawa narration, Yusuf Ibrahim, who is in-charge at the PHC said shortage of staff causes them to be overworked, adding that the facility lacks a single toilet.

“We go home to ease ourselves and come back. It is stressful”, He said, adding that for patients, they must wait till they get home or make use of the bush or nearby houses.

Raising the alarm, Ibrahim urged both state and federal governments to make PHCs to be in good condition by providing adequate human resource for health and adequate, gender friendly Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities.

Meanwhile, a visit to two prominent primary health centres in Rivers State by NatureNews may look quite different from the story in Niger state.

In an interview with some patients at Ozouba’s health centre in Port Harcourt, they affirmed the presence of toilets.

Worlu Gift, told NatureNews that ever since she has been attending post-Natals, toilets were already built in the health care complex.

Speaking on the level of hygiene, she said that the maintenance is on the average.

“Cleaners come in the morning to clean but before the close of work, some patients have messed up the toilet.

“There will be a time you will just have the option of using the bush because of the poor condition it will turn into.”

At another health centre inside Choba campus of the University of Port Harcourt, NatureNews correspondent observed that the toilets were kept neat and hygiene practices were maintained.

Efforts were made to speak to Medical director of the clinic on the efforts put in place to maintain hygiene but was abortive.

World Toilet day is marked every 19th November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Worldwide, 4.2 billion people live without “safely managed sanitation” and around 673 million people practice open defecation, according to UN report.