The accessibility problems of primary health care to rural people in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Ibrahim Musa Jaro and Abdulhamed Adamu Ibrahim

Department of Geography, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.

*Corresponding author E-mail: hmahdi.adamu@gmail.com

Accepted 12 June, 2012

Abstract

In Jigawa state urban settlement pattern exhibit discrete format, while the rural setting is made up of settlements units of individual distinct villages. They have basic welfare facilities like markets, hospitals, schools and other social facilities located in them. This study examines and explains how accessibility problems affect level of utilization of the primary health care system (as measured the location hospitals) in Jigawa state. The result revealed that distribution of primary health care centres and facilities is not homogeneous because of political policy and so their location does offer equal access or uniform benefit to the rural people. It was also found out that few settlements have primary health centres and cottage hospitals located in them and they are poorly connected by road. And so, the number of people utilizing the primary health care centers and facilities declines because of the increasing distance between their places of residences and points were they obtain health services. Other reasons which have contributed to low level of utilization are user fees for services, cost of transport, non-availability of drugs, lack of good doctors and qualified nurses, long waiting time for treatment. All these encouraged people to go for options provided by traditional orthodox. It was recommended that there should be improvement in the location of primary health care centres and good roads should be constructed to link all health facilities.

Keywords: primary health care, settlement, rural people, Jigawa state.