By: Folaranmi Adeoye
In the teeming Uteh-Okha quarters on the outskirts of Benin City, Edo State, life rarely pauses. Traders bark prices over roaring traffic, motorcycles dart through narrow streets, and children in neatly pressed uniforms hurry to school. Yet, until recently, one building at the centre of this vibrant community stood as a monument to neglect—the Uteh Primary Health Centre.
For years, the facility that should have been the community’s first line of defence against disease was instead a symbol of quiet suffering.
Serving more than 16,000 residents in an LGA of about 372,000 people, Uteh PHC had slipped into near abandonment. Pregnant women stopped attending antenatal clinics because there were no drugs. Children missed routine immunisation because refrigerators were empty or powerless. Deliveries happened at home or in distant private clinics. Health workers watched preventable illnesses turn fatal.
“We felt useless,” said Mrs Ewere, a Community Health Extension Worker who has served at the centre for three years. “Women would walk long distances to get here, only for us to tell them we had nothing. It broke our spirit.”
Between January and September 2024, the numbers told a bleak story. The centre recorded an average of just four first antenatal visits per month, barely one skilled delivery, and only about 25 children completing their full immunisation schedule even in its best months. Essential medicines were chronically unavailable, malaria testing was rare, and the facility shut its doors at dusk due to lack of electricity and security.
Then, in October 2024, the story changed.
Through the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation’s Adopt-a-Healthcare-Facility Programme (ADHFP), Uteh Primary Health Centre was selected for full revitalisation. What followed was not a cosmetic renovation, but a systemic reset.
New delivery beds arrived. Vaccine refrigerators began running on uninterrupted power. Shelves were stocked with antimalarials, antihypertensives, iron and folic acid supplements, and rapid diagnostic kits. Clean water flowed again. Security guards were deployed. Most crucially, drugs and consumables began arriving every month—consistently.
The impact was immediate and measurable.
Average monthly patient visits rose from 170 before the intervention to 398 between October 2024 and September 2025—a 134 per cent increase. In June 2025 alone, the centre recorded 635 visits. First antenatal visits climbed from four per month to an average of seven, peaking at 15 in July and August 2025. Skilled deliveries rose from one per month to five in the same period.
Immunisation days, once quiet, now attract long queues of mothers and caregivers. The number of fully immunised children increased from an average of 25 to 39 by July 2025. Malaria testing surged dramatically, with 198 adults tested in September 2025 alone—every positive case treated the same day. Pregnant women once again received intermittent preventive treatment and insecticide-treated nets as standard care.
Most striking of all, Uteh PHC recorded zero maternal deaths, zero infant deaths, and zero under-five deaths throughout 2024 and the first three quarters of 2025—an extraordinary feat in a country where maternal mortality remains as high as 993 deaths per 100,000 live births.
For 24-year-old Blessing, pregnant with her second child, the difference is deeply personal.
“With my first pregnancy, I stopped coming because there was nothing here,” she said. “This time, I come faithfully. They give me drugs, explain everything, and I plan to deliver here. For the first time, I feel safe.”
Health workers say the turnaround rests on one word: reliability.
“Now we have light all night, security, and drugs every month,” said Nurse Osarumwense. “We can finally do our jobs properly. The community sees that, and they trust us again.”
Beyond infrastructure and supplies, the intervention rebuilt trust through governance.
Regular stakeholder meetings were reinstated, Ward Development Committees were revived, and outreach programmes restored community ownership. Residents now monitor drug stocks, report shortages promptly, and hold the facility accountable—a foundation for sustainability.
Chief Iyare, a respected community leader, put it simply: “This is no longer just a health centre. It is our health centre. When mothers and children are healthy, the whole community is strong.”
Uteh’s transformation offers a powerful lesson: Nigeria does not lack solutions. What it lacks is consistent, holistic implementation. One fully supported primary health centre can save hundreds of lives and restore dignity to thousands.
As dusk settles over Uteh today, the health centre remains brightly lit. Mothers wait confidently. A newborn’s cry echoes from the delivery room. Health workers move with purpose, not apology.
This is what primary healthcare should look like—everywhere.
THE WAY FORWARD
Nigeria can end its maternal and child mortality crisis one health centre at a time—if all stakeholders act.
A call to Federal Government to Prioritise full operational funding and uninterrupted drug supply for every PHC under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
State Governments & Development Partners: Scale proven models like the Adopt-a-Healthcare-Facility Programme to every ward.
Private Sector & Philanthropists: Adopt a health facility. Investments today will save lives tomorrow.
Citizens & Community Leaders: Demand accountability, attend stakeholder meetings, and protect your health centres.
Uteh has shown what is possible.
The rest of Nigeria must now follow—so that no mother or child is lost to a preventable death again.
