A civic technology group, MonITNG, has raised alarm over the deplorable state of the Primary Health Care Centre in Gbaka, Mbaatirkyaa Council Ward of Buruku Local Government Area, Benue State, describing it as a “lifeline that has completely collapsed.”
In a statement following a recent inspection of the facility, MonITNG reported that the clinic, which is supposed to cater for over 5,000 people, has been abandoned and left in disrepair.
“The roof is falling apart, the walls are cracked, and inside, there are no beds, no medications, and not a single health worker in sight,” the group said. “This is not just a building in need of repair; it’s a lifeline that has completely collapsed.”
Local residents painted a harrowing picture of what the facility has become. Reptiles, including snakes, reportedly slither into the premises, while patients—particularly pregnant women—are forced to seek help in distant towns, often travelling on motorcycles in emergency situations.
“Women in labour are carried on okadas to faraway clinics. Children with fever and elderly people with hypertension or other conditions are stranded here without help,” a community member said. “This place is no longer a health centre. It is a death trap.”
Despite multiple appeals to successive state administrations, including numerous letters and verbal pleas, community members say no meaningful response has ever come.
“We have written, called, begged. Yet, no government official has ever come to see the state of this clinic,” another resident told MonITNG. “We are dying in silence.”
During election seasons, Gbaka reportedly receives a flurry of attention, with politicians promising to fix the facility and restore proper healthcare delivery. However, those pledges often fade as soon as votes are secured.
The group noted that despite the billions of naira reportedly spent on healthcare during the administration of former governor Samuel Ortom, the people of Gbaka saw no improvement.
“How many more of us must die before our lives matter to those in power?” the group asked in its report. “When will rural communities be treated with dignity and urgency?”
At the time of filing this report, the Benue State Government had not responded to the findings or the residents’ concerns.
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