Dr Vivian promised to visit Umon Island to see how the facility can be upgraded. As well as ensure the establishment of a general hospital in Biase.
By Archibong Jeremiah
On Umon Island, a remote community in Cross River State, Nigeria, the dire state of healthcare and the shadows of neglect threaten the lives of vulnerable residents daily. With their only Primary Healthcare Centre in disrepair and lacking essential medical supplies, the island’s inhabitants are forced to rely on traditional medicine and perilous journeys to distant facilities for urgent care.
As the community grapples with inadequate infrastructure, including a broken solar power system that has plunged them back into darkness, the urgent cries for help highlight a humanitarian crisis that demands immediate attention and action from authorities and healthcare stakeholders alike.
Chief Effiong Ndem has underscored the critical role of traditional medicine in the healthcare landscape of Umon Island, revealing significant gaps in access to modern medical treatments. Residents often struggle to obtain essential medications, as indicated by the Chief’s statement regarding the challenges even in Ikot Okpura, the centre of the Umon people.
“The only alternative is traditional medicine,” Chief Ndem remarked, highlighting the difficulties faced by patients who cannot access basic pain relief, such as paracetamol. The waterlocked community suffer from a woeful lack of essential health services and is heavily reliant on traditional health practices, especially when the only Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) on the island is unable to provide the necessary services.
The PHC is equipped with inadequate resources, lacking essential medications, medical equipment, and staff. From outside, all seems well, but upon entering inside, reality sets in – a one ward facility with leaking roofs, cracked walls, broken doors, broken toilet chambers, no pharmacy, no personal protective equipment, no gloves, a broken wheelchair, no laboratory, two health workers, and no doctor.
The ward.
The pit where refuse is burnt just beside the facility, needles included.
Labour room.
In circumstances where immediate medical care is required for pregnant women, many are taken to traditional birth attendants or, in more urgent cases, transferred to facilities in private hospitals in Akpet or Akamkpa General Hospital or Itu. “Some who are very fast are rushed to Akamkpa or a private hospital in Akpet or Itu,” explained Chief Ndem, emphasising the dire need for accessible healthcare solutions within the island.
Umon Island PHC, though part of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), still struggles to provide services.
Total Darkness And Rising Costs
The residents of Umon Island depend heavily on traditional medicine, raising concerns about the availability and quality of healthcare. Additionally, they live without electricity, which negatively impacts both their quality of life and the clinic’s operations.
Before 2018, the island had been in total darkness. According to a report by EnviroNewsNigeria, the German government, through its arm of international cooperation, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit), introduced a 50 kilowatt mini-grid solar system in March 2018. The implementing partner was the Community Research and Development Centre.
The system is housed in a room containing 48 batteries, with each carrying two volts and six battery inverters to generate 50 kilowatts. Also, outside the CREDC office, there are 18 photovoltaic cells (solar panels) which receive sunlight. The sunlight is converted to direct current that passes through the grid.
TheInvestigator findings revealed that the solar system worked for only 4 years before breaking down, as against 40 years estimated by the Germans. Since 2022 to date, the island has been in darkness, and some batteries are missing.
Justina Ibiam, a mother of 3, runs a small provision shop in front of her house. She started the business 2 years ago and has never sold anything cold. “Having cold drinks here is a luxury; only very few places have them, but the cost is another thing. Fuel here on the island is very expensive.” She said.
Kanu Ilem longs to have a refrigerator for food and beverage preservation. “I thank my wife because the way she struggles to preserve food is amazing. We need a fridge to help us do that, but first, we must buy a generator and be able to fuel it. See the problem, right?” Kanu reflected.
The 50 kilowatt mini-grid solar station.
Chief Ndem disclosed that many attempts were made by the community to get the facility manager to train some youths on how to manage the facility but he refused.
Recalling, Chief Ndem told TheInvestigator, “He doesn’t stay in the community more than a night, and sometimes when there are challenges, it takes days before he comes to rectify issues. We tried to get him to teach our youths so that in his absence, they could fit in, but it didn’t work, and we did not want a problem with him.”
Advocates Call For Urgent Government Action
An advocate of good governance, Comrade Ogar Emmanuel Oko, Secretary of Niger Delta Activists Forum (NDAF) when contacted by TheInvestigator, blamed the government and the community for their predicament.
Ogar said, “Considering this very community that you have just mentioned, as a villager myself, I feel that the government has not done much to alleviate the suffering of rural dwellers.”
Comrade Ogar Emmanuel Oko, Secretary of Niger Delta Activists Forum (NDAF).
He called on the government to build a bridge for Umon Island, he said “I would like to advise the government that a road is essential for a good living. So the government should build an access road, a motorable road to that very community. If there is a need, a bridge should be constructed.”
On electrification, he said, “In life, there are a few necessities of life, like shelter, light, clothing, and housing, as well as healthcare facilities. So I want to call on the Cross River Rural Electrification Agency to connect this very community to their electrical grid so that they can also have light and feel among, and also enjoy the benefit of being Cross Riverians.”
The senator representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, was also called to intervene. “They need light. People cannot live in darkness in the 21st century. It is so sad that for about three years, as you said, these people have been living without light. How do they charge their phone? How do they listen to the news? How do they do printing and other stuff?” he rhetorically asked.
On their health situation, Ogar asserted that “So it’s a very sad one, considering the issue of health,” adding that “A community such as that deserves not just one healthcare facility. Recently, the State Government employed some doctors, some civil servants, and some healthcare providers. They should send some of these people who are willing to go to that community.”
He questioned what happened to their politically exposed persons and during elections, when campaigners came to them seeking votes.
“Sometimes people, too, should be blamed. I believe this community has people who can speak for them, but some of the people, the voices that should speak for them, are compromised already. During the election period, I strongly believe that some of these representatives, government officials, and those politicians who come there to campaign and ask for their support and their vote.”
Lawrence Peter, a development worker with Policy Alert, was bitter about the situation and told TheInvestigator that “this is an aberration that a systemic failure has affected this particular island. It feels as though these people are cut out from the citizens.”
On what the community can do, he said, “What they need to do is to rally around for their voice to be heard. It is high time they call out their leaders or their representatives and make sure that they demand to know how things have been going in this community.
Lawrence Peter, a development worker with Policy Alert.
“If they have a representative, if there is a local government chairman, if there is a councillor, if there is somebody that is representing that particular community in the House of Assembly, then I see no reason why they should be going through all of these things and it looks as if nobody is hearing it.”
Efforts Underway To Upgrade Healthcare Services, Power Up Umon Island – Government
TheInvestigator contacted the Director-Generals of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), Dr Vivien Mesembe Otu and that of the State Electricity Agency (SEA), Mr Francis Ekpo, to know what their offices are doing to alleviate the sufferings of rural dwellers.
Dr Vivien acknowledged the existence of dilapidated facilities, fatigued and untrained staff, shortages of consumables and equipment, among others. She shared some measures underway to improve the health system of the state.
In her words, “We inherited a lot of dilapidated structures. So many of our structures were dilapidated, and when I mean dilapidated, not even worth human beings to access care. We had been understaffed for years. No employment, so we were short-staffed. And we are still short-staffed. The governor has engaged about 380 new staff.”
Director-Generals of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), Dr Vivien Mesembe Otu.
She revealed that “Most of our clients were left in the mercy of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), chemists, traditional medicine and all that, because the health facilities were not in good condition or good condition for them to assess. Also that some health facilities didn’t even have anyone minding them, so they can’t even go to access health care a lot.”
Acknowledging that “Many had lost confidence in the system,” she added that “Since we came on board, thanks to the governor, who had placed counterpart funding that has helped us renovate 94 of those facilities.”
Dr Vivian revealed further that “We are targeting the primary healthcare facilities, one in every ward, and there are 196 of them. So we are doing 94 now, and we are still hoping to do more.”
On what project impact has been doing, she said, “We are rebuilding. We are expanding. We are restructuring. And it comes with a full package. And that is, we are putting solar systems so they are going to have 24 hours of light and 24 hours of water. And the impact also comes with other packages, like engagement of skilled birth workers, of which, recently, we have engaged 196 skilled birth workers through the impact project, one per ward.
“And it also comes with the provision of commodities and accessories equipment. So these facilities we innovated will be fully equipped. Your medical equipment will be bought and installed. We are buying commodities. So recently, we just procured Mama kits, which we are distributing to all the LGAs.”
Apart from training health workers, she revealed that traditional birth attendants, too, have been trained. “We have also made an effort to reach out to the TBAs. We acknowledge the fact that they are in existence in the community. We don’t want to lie to ourselves or pretend that we don’t know they are in existence, so I’ve reached out to them in all the local governments. Our people’s lives are at risk. So we have gone to teach and train them so that they can have only natural deliveries that do not have complications.” She said.
Dr Vivian promised to visit Umon Island to see how the facility can be upgraded. As well as ensure the establishment of a general hospital in Biase.
On his part, when called on his mobile phone, the State Electricity Agency (SEA), Mr Francis Ekpo, said he is aware of the electricity situation in Umon Island.
Director-General, State Electricity Agency (SEA), Mr Francis Ekpo.
He said, “When I came onboard, I heard about it. The problem was that the mini grid was handed over to someone who wasn’t competent to handle it. Over time, the person abandoned the facility and started vandalising it.”
Mr Ekpo added that “But there are plans on ground, we are collaborating with our mother office in Abuja (Rural Electricification Agency) to see how we can re-energise that place.”
When asked how soon they would complete planning and restore power to the island, he replied that “I can’t say for now, but be assured that it is noted and plans are underway.”
This story was produced for the Frontline Investigative Programme and supported by the Africa Data Hub and Orodata Science.