Dawakiji Basic Health Clinic in Dawakiji community of Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State provides healthcare services to the residents of Dawakiji and neighbouring communities. According to Idris Bashir Kode, the officer in charge of the clinic, the community members, especially women, patronise the health facility for antenatal care (ANC).
The building that houses the clinic is in good condition, but the clinic lacks critical human resource. Kode says the facility needs additional health workers in every unit. They also need a labour room. "We do not have a resting room or enough beds for the pregnant women to use after they deliver. We use a ward as a labor room, and there is no equipment which makes delivery difficult to conduct".
Safiyya Ibrahim says she is the only staff working in the maternity unit of the clinic, which puts pressure on her and makes it difficult to provide quality care to community members. "I conduct ANC, provide family planning, and take delivery. On ANC days especially, it is difficult", she adds. Ibrahim admits that but not for the help of volunteers from the community - who studied a health science course - who sometimes come to the facility to assist her, she would not have been able to provide the services. According to Ibrahim, the facility used to have enough staff, but they were transferred to other facilities without replacement.
It is important for Dawakiji Basic Health Clinic and others like it to have an adequate, well trained and renumerated health workforce. It is dangerous to both patients and staff to have one health worker in the maternity unit as she will be overwhelmed, which might lead to avoidable mistakes and burnout.
For Dawakiji and other surrounding communities to enjoy quality healthcare services, they are asking the officials of Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area and the Kano State government to do the following,
Engage more health workers, including midwives for the health facility.
Build a labor room in the health facility.
Provide adequate equipment for the health facility.
