Imagine you are at a playground, and all you can hear is laughter and little children playing. The sun is shining, and there’s a cool breeze. You can’t help but smile as you prepare to sit down at a nearby bench. Then suddenly you hear a loud noise.
You quickly turn around and see blood on the floor, and a little girl crying. You rush towards the playground only to realise that it’s your niece. She fell from one of the swings in the playground and hit her head, and there was blood everywhere.
Your hands shiver, and your heartbeat races as you pick up the phone to call the ambulance. A receptionist answers and tells you that the nearest one available is two hours away. You know she can’t wait that long, so you pick her up, put her in your car, and rush to the nearest medical facility.
You take shortcuts to avoid the traffic while your niece lays in the backseat crying. You see a sign that says “primary healthcare centre”, so you drive in, but as you get closer, you feel a shiver go down your spine.
As you enter, you notice that the walls are falling apart, and there are only two nurses on duty. One of them informs you that there are no doctors available, while the other stands up and guides you to a room down the passage.
When you enter the room, you are greeted by a smell so foul that it would offend the ancestors.
Your niece is still crying, so you look around for a bed to put her down on. You find one, but notice that the sheets are brown, and there are stains everywhere. You approach the sink and open it to give her a glass of water. The water takes a moment to come out, and when it does, it is as brown as the walls around you.
At that moment, you feel helpless. You realise that your niece won’t receive the medical care she needs and deserves. Now, you understand the truth about the state of healthcare in Nigeria.
This is not fiction. This is the reality that many Nigerians face every day. Mothers spend their days praying for their children to come home safe. They know that one bad fall from a playground can become a catastrophe.
Now, imagine how different things would be if every Nigerian had access to quality and affordable healthcare? It wouldn’t solve all of our challenges, but it would be one less thing for Nigerian families to worry about.
Providing every citizen with quality and affordable healthcare is why the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN) was formed. Through our Adopt-A-Primary-Healthcare-Facility Programme, we seek to ensure that every child in Nigeria has access to a quality primary healthcare facility.
Adopt-A-Primary-Healthcare-Facility Programme (ADHFP)
ADHFP is a multi-impact initiative that seeks to improve health outcomes, increase job creation, and promote gender empowerment. Our programme aims to reduce mortality rates, improve public sector accountability, and encourage successful health policy reform.
Our goal is to establish a chain of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas and provide low-cost health services at global standards to the poor and vulnerable.
We envision a Nigeria where every parent has the peace of mind of knowing that their family has access to quality healthcare.
We want to take a moment to honour all of the amazing children living in our beautiful country. We are committed to ensuring that every time you go out to play, every time you’re ill, or there’s an emergency, you are comforted by the knowledge that there’s always a primary healthcare centre near you. Happy Children’s Day.
Join us on our mission, and let us bring together a brighter tomorrow for our children.
