From dilapidated building to community health hub
In the Sabon Tasha area of Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State, a primary healthcare centre that was once avoided by pregnant women has become a trusted destination for maternal and child health services. The transformation, driven by renovations and improved staffing, is reversing years of declining confidence in the public health system.
Patients who spoke with PUNCH Healthwise described a facility that has changed not only in appearance but in the quality of care it delivers. The renovated centre now offers upgraded labour wards, better-staffed clinics, and a patient-centred approach that has drawn more women to antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, facility-based deliveries, and family planning services. Routine immunisation among infants has also increased.
One mother’s story: from fear to trust
Maryam Ibrahim, a 24-year-old first-time mother, recalls the sleepless nights she spent worrying about childbirth. Stories from neighbours about labour pain and the attitudes of midwives had left her terrified throughout her first trimester.
“People used to tell me frightening things. They said labour was something every woman had to suffer through alone. Others warned me that hospitals would ignore poor people or ask for money before helping them,” Ibrahim told PUNCH Healthwise.
Her fears began to ease after a health worker encouraged her to register for antenatal care at the renovated Sabon Tasha PHC. On her first visit, she was struck by how different the facility was from what she had imagined.
“It was clean and organised. The nurses welcomed me warmly and patiently answered every question I asked. Nobody made me feel ignorant because it was my first pregnancy,” she said.
Ibrahim attended every antenatal clinic. Each visit strengthened her confidence. “They checked my blood pressure, monitored the baby’s growth and taught us about nutrition. They explained danger signs during pregnancy, what to expect during labour and even prepared us mentally for childbirth. I stopped seeing pregnancy as something to fear,” she recalled.
When labour began, she went straight to the PHC. “My husband immediately brought me here because some health workers now live inside the staff quarters; they attended to me almost immediately,” she said. After several hours, she delivered a healthy baby boy. “I cried again, but this time because I was happy. I couldn’t believe everything had gone so smoothly.”
Ibrahim has since kept up with her son’s immunisation schedule and postnatal care. She and her husband were also counselled on modern contraceptives. “They explained that child spacing is about protecting the health of both mother and baby. Now my husband understands that planning our next pregnancy is actually part of taking care of our family,” she said.
Rebuilding a broken system
For years, Nigeria’s primary healthcare system has struggled with inadequate funding, deteriorating infrastructure, and shortages of personnel and equipment. Many community health centres became abandoned buildings as women bypassed them for overcrowded general hospitals, traditional birth attendants, or home deliveries.
To reverse this trend, the Federal Government, through the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), and partnerships with state governments and development agencies, has intensified efforts to revitalise thousands of PHCs across the country. Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, disclosed in June that N235 billion had been released to PHCs through the BHCPF over the past three years of the current administration.
At Sabon Tasha, the results are visible. The waiting area, once deliberately avoided by women, now sees a steady stream of patients. The ageing buildings, leaky roofs, bad toilets, cramped consultation rooms, and nonexistent staff accommodation that eroded trust have been replaced with freshly painted buildings, renovated labour wards, and improved staff quarters.
Patience Itodo, a frequent user of the PHC, confirmed the change: “They are now much better than before. The activities here are much better than before.”
Compassion as a clinical tool
Officer-in-Charge of the Sabon Tasha PHC, Mrs Alice Williams, has witnessed the transformation firsthand. She remembers when leaking roofs and the absence of staff accommodation made quality service delivery difficult.
“Before the renovation, the facility was in a deplorable state. Healthcare workers travelled from different parts of Kaduna every day because there were no staff quarters. At night or during emergencies, patients sometimes arrive before health workers,” Williams told PUNCH Healthwise.
Today, newly constructed staff quarters allow healthcare workers, including a National Youth Service Corps doctor, to reside within the facility. “That single intervention has made a tremendous difference. When a woman arrives in labour at midnight, someone is already here to receive her. In maternal healthcare, every minute matters. A delay of even thirty minutes can determine whether both mother and baby survive,” she said.
Williams noted that the renovation has also improved staff morale. However, she stressed that sustaining the gains requires continued investment. Outstanding challenges include inadequate consulting rooms, insufficient toilets for patients and visitors, unreliable electricity after the theft of some solar batteries, and poor access roads leading to the facility.
Corps Medical Doctor Dr Onovu Christopher believes the greatest change has been the restoration of public confidence. The centre now offers antenatal care, postnatal care, routine consultations, family planning, child welfare clinics, immunisation services, HIV counselling and treatment, nutrition services, and general nursing care.
Christopher emphasised that compassion is as important as clinical expertise. “There are occasions when patients cannot immediately pay for prescribed medicines or services. We don’t send them away. They receive treatment first and can return later to settle outstanding bills because preserving life comes before everything else,” he explained.
That arrangement, he said, is gradually rebuilding trust. “When communities trust their health centre, pregnant women register earlier for antenatal care, they deliver under skilled birth attendants, they bring their babies for immunisation, and they seek family planning counselling. That is how stronger health systems are built—not only through buildings, but through relationships.”
Family planning: dispelling myths, saving lives
For 34-year-old Grace Yakubu, motherhood had become a cycle of exhaustion. After the birth of her fourth child, she hoped to recover, but discovered she was pregnant again barely a year later.
“There were days I woke up feeling completely drained. Sometimes I become dizzy while doing simple house chores. I loved my children with all my heart, but I kept asking myself how I was going to care for all of them when I was always tired,” she told PUNCH Healthwise.
Yakubu had heard stories that modern contraceptives “would make a woman barren or seriously ill. Others claimed it would destroy marriages because women would no longer have children. Those stories made me afraid.”
A counselling session with the family planning officer at the renovated PHC changed her perception. “They didn’t rush me. They asked about my health, my family and whether I still wanted more children in the future. When I told them yes, they smiled and explained that family planning was not about stopping childbirth. It was about allowing my body enough time to recover before another pregnancy.”
Rebecca Daniel, a 38-year-old mother of five, had a similar experience. For years, she avoided modern contraceptives due to fears of permanent infertility, excessive bleeding, or sickness. After a visit to the renovated centre, a health worker calmly explained the side effects, advantages, and disadvantages of each method.
“They explained what family planning does and what it does not do. They made me understand that every woman is different and that different methods depend on individual health needs,” Daniel said. She has since become an advocate in her community.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that prevalent myths, cultural, religious, and personal beliefs are factors causing low uptake of family planning, leading to unplanned pregnancies, abortion, and closely spaced pregnancies. The report also noted the need for women to undergo screening before choosing a contraceptive method to ensure safety.
A model for what’s possible
The improvements at Sabon Tasha PHC have significantly increased the number of patients, particularly pregnant women and mothers bringing their babies for routine immunisation. Aisha Musa, who delivered her baby at the centre, said she attended every antenatal clinic. “From the first day I registered, the nurses made me feel like I mattered. Every visit they explained something new: the right foods to eat during pregnancy, warning signs to look out for, how to prepare for labour and even how to care for my baby after delivery.”
Dr Christopher believes the improvements at Sabon Tasha demonstrate what is possible when investments in infrastructure are matched by dedicated frontline health workers. “That is how stronger health systems are built—not only through buildings, but through relationships,” he said.
For Maryam Ibrahim, the message is simple. “I tell every pregnant woman I meet not to wait until labour starts before coming to the hospital. Come early. Attend antenatal, ask questions. It can save your life.”
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