Bulmun Dakwal
In Kopffiar, a quiet and rocky village hidden behind the rocks of Quanpan Local government area, Plateau state, stories of child loss, stillbirth, and survival have sadly become the daily reality of the people, all caused by the absence of a functional health care facility.
Over 10 years later, the only existing Primary Health Care Clinic that was built collapsed in 2014, still in a collapsed state covered with grass, and yet with a stand signboard directing to a collapsed structure. This has left the lives of residents in this community, especially women and children, at high risk and exposed to preventable diseases, unsafe childbirth, and, in worst cases, premature death.
Narrating her ugly ordeal, Dategum Esther, a resident in Kopffiar, shares with SecretsReporters her experience, remembering this ordeal, shaking her head, taking a deep breath, her voice shaking with emotion as she shares how the absence of a medical facility almost took her and her son’s lives.
“It was one time when I was feeling sick, I had to walk to Kwa to run a test, which is almost a two-hour walk from here, because there is no hospital or clinic here. When the test result was out, I was told I had malaria. I was given medication and told to keep coming for antenatal, which I kept going for up until my due date.” She explained.
But when her labor started at night, hitting the dangerous road to Kwa was not an option at that moment.
“I started labor at exactly 8 pm that night. I had to struggle from that time until the next day, around 3 am, when I finally gave birth to my son in the house, with no medical help, no drugs, and no one to turn to.” She said.
Her story is far from surprising or unique in Kopffiar; stories like this are sadly common amongst the women in Kopffiar, a reflection of how the government’s neglect, broken promises, and corruption have left the community at the mercy of life and death.
Kwa, the nearest settlement with functioning health care, is a rocky uphill walk, and for many in Kopffiar, the only option in times of emergencies is Kwa.
“On a fateful day, my son was very sick,” Esther shared, her voice sinking, “There was no clinic to run to, no drugs here. I had to carry him on my back to the clinic at Kwa. On our way, I thought I had lost him because his body became lifeless, but thank God they were able to revive him.”
Esther’s child’s survival was good news, but it left a permanent traumatizing experience, a trauma shared by countless families in the community.
In Kopffiar, when emergencies arise, they often have to beg neighbors to help carry sick relatives over the dangerous, uneven road leading to the clinic at Kwa. For pregnant women, children, and the elderly, it’s not something they look forward to.
Empty Promises: A Forgotten Community
Speaking to the youth leader, Manlat Chinwar, he expressed his disappointment in the government while lamenting their sufferings in the community.
“It’s been almost 20 years since the clinic stopped functioning. There was no supply of drugs, and it got to a point where even Panadol was not available in the clinic. Over time, they stopped sending staff to the clinic until the building eventually collapsed. Our head of community and the health committee have gone to the local government to complain, we have also called and visited some of the past and present politicians to come to our aid with pictures of the collapsed building, but all we get are empty promises.” He said with a sad face.
Sadly, Kopffiar is not the only community affected by the absence of a functional clinic; several other communities that were depending on the clinic are now left to also struggle.
“This clinic was a big one for us; we were not the only ones benefiting from this clinic. People from other communities like Dung, Kock, Bogolong, and Bong all came here to get medications, but now we are all stranded without a health facility,” he said.
Still speaking on their sufferings, Chinwar harped on the constant struggle of carrying sick patients and pregnant women on their backs to the clinic at Kwa. He told SecretsReporters how a pregnant woman lost her life due to heavy bleeding, which couldn’t be controlled, and eventually died on the way to the clinic in Kwa.
Crying out to the government, Chinwar hopes and wishes that the government will come to their aid and build them a standard hospital.
“We are not asking for much, even if it’s just a round hut, the government should build it for us and supply drugs and staff for us because having a standing building without equipment in it is a total waste,” Dashar Augustine said angrily.
“Every time they want our votes, they come to us and deceive us with lies and promises they’ll never fulfill. We give them our votes, and once they win the election, we never see them again.” Augustine added.
Despite the constant outreach by the community leaders, Esther was once nominated by the women in the community to speak on their behalf the last time some political aspirants visited the community, yet no meaningful action has been taken
“I told them clearly that our biggest problem is the PHC clinic. That was years ago, until now, as I speak to you, we have not set eyes on any of them here,” She said.
Government Fails To Meet Up With Responsibility
Primary Health Care centers are designed to bring basic medical services closer to rural communities like Kopffiar, offering antenatal care, immunizations, malaria treatment, first aid, and emergency cases.
In Plateau State, Qua’anpan local government area hosts several rural settlements, many facing similar infrastructure gaps. However, the complete collapse of Kopffiar’s PHC clinic represents an extreme case of neglect from the government.
Yearly Financial Health Budget
While communities like Kopffiar struggle for survival, Nigeria’s yearly health budgets tell a different story on paper; they reflect so much attention and importance given to the health sector, but fails to reflect that down to the people at the grassroots level.
Since 2015, the Nigerian government has consistently allocated millions and billions of naira for the health sector. Yet, the harsh realities in rural communities like Kopffiar reveal a huge gap between the budgetary allocation and actual health care delivery.
In 2015, Nigeria allocated two hundred and fifty-seven point five billion naira (N257.5 billion) to the health sector. The following year, three hundred and fifty three point five billion naira (N353.5 billion) was budgeted, rising to three hundred and eighty point two billion naira (N380.2 billion) in 2017.
By the year 2018, health funding increased to five hundred and twenty-eight point one billion naira (N528.1 billion)
Fast forward to recent years, and the health sector has seen larger allocations running into trillions. In 2023, one trillion, one hundred and seventy-nine billion naira (N1,179 trillion) was approved, and one trillion, three hundred and thirty billion naira (N1.33 trillion) in 2024.
Despite these numbers, many communities like Kopffiar are still not carried along; they are still struggling to access basic health amenities.
Response From The Government
SecretsReporters reached out to the Plateau State Primary Health Care Board, the agency responsible for rural health care infrastructure, through a written FOI. When contacted, the secretary to the Chief Executive Secretary of the board acknowledged receiving the letter.
“The letter has been forwarded to the office of the Director of Finance and Supply,” he explained.
After several follow-ups, a response letter was received from the office of the Director of Finance and Supply, which read that “There hasn’t been any budgetary allocation, release of funds, nor disbursement made for the construction or rehabilitation of PHC facility in Kopffiar from 2014 till date.”
This response is not only disappointing but also makes the government’s priorities questionable, especially when huge sums are budgeted yearly in the state for the health sector.
Sadly, this case has revealed that it’s not just about budget failures or lack of allocation but governance failure. Communities like Kopffiar will continue to struggle, children will continue to fall sick, pregnant women will keep risking their lives to home birth, and families will continue to carry their loved ones through the rocky and uneven roads in search of basic amenities like a PHC clinic until the day health care is more than a political promise but a reality that saves lives.