Story by Osuta Yusuf.
Maracha District.
Residents and pregnant women in Obiba Sub-county in Maracha Constituency, Maracha District are struggling to find treatment after their only hope for free treatment got closed in December 2024 over staffing gap.
Eliofe Health Centre III which serves approximately 27,3000 people in Obiba Sub-county, became closed on 3-December-2024 after the only midwife who works at the facility, took an annual leave, leaving the Health centre out of service due to insufficiency in human resource.
As our reporter toured the abandoned health centre III, Chicken turned the laboursuit into a place for laying eggs.
Azuru Julliet, a mother from Okabi village, Lamila Parish stressed that, patients and expectant mothers who have been going to the facility to seek for health services have been turned away because no health workers that can attend to them.
Julliet praised Ms. Jessica the only Health Worker who single-handedly worked for four months at Eliofe Health Centre III.
Obiba Sub-county LC3 Chairperson Hon Mbaku Samuel explained that, the health centre had 2 health workers, one developed some health problems and she was granted sick leave, the other one worked for four months alone and she got annual leave on 3-December-2024.
“We wrote a letter to the district requesting for deployment of health workers but upto now no other staff has been deployed at the health centre“ LC3 Chairperson added.
During a telephone call interview with Hon Alema Dicky, who is the Secretary for social services in Maracha District, he acknowledged staffing gaps in the health sector of Maracha District.
However, he criticized some of the health workers in Maracha for resisting to accept transfers to some health facilities within the district.