In the Plateau State village of Tan-Jol, the tragic story of Grace Joseph highlights a broader, ongoing healthcare crisis. Earlier this year, Grace went into labor but faced a dilemma common to many in her community: there was no local health facility or midwife to assist her. After enduring hours of labor, she and her husband sought help, first at a clinic in the nearby village of Vwak-Jol, a 10-kilometer journey on rough, unpaved roads. Unfortunately, the clinic lacked the necessary equipment to handle her case, so they were referred to Vom Christian Hospital, 30 kilometers away.
The journey to Vom was filled with tension as the family battled poor road conditions, only to find that the hospital was also unequipped to manage her delivery. Too late in the day to make another trip to the state capital’s specialist hospital, the family had no choice but to return home. The following morning, Grace delivered her baby at the state specialist hospital, but sadly, the child did not survive due to complications from the prolonged labor. Her experience is a grim reminder of the fragile state of maternal and infant healthcare in rural Nigeria, where infant mortality stands at around 54 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Unfortunately, Grace’s ordeal is not unique in Tan-Jol. Many families face the same desperate search for healthcare when complications arise during childbirth. Local resident Deborah Alfred recounts how, in most cases, families must rely on neighbors with cars or motorcycles to transport expectant mothers to distant clinics. If labor begins at night, they may have no choice but to attempt a risky home delivery, hoping for a safe outcome. This dire situation stems largely from the absence of a functioning health facility in the community.
An unfinished and abandoned clinic in Tan-Jol stands as a symbol of broken promises. The clinic, initiated over 20 years ago, was supposed to provide crucial healthcare services to the village and its surroundings. Construction began in the early 2000s, and the building was roofed in 2004. However, work stopped shortly after, leaving the structure incomplete. Despite a ₦9.5 million allocation from the Plateau State government in 2021 to complete the project, there has been no sign of further development. Over the years, the clinic has fallen into disrepair, with weeds overtaking the walls and parts of the structure damaged due to a local farmer-herder conflict.
The community’s desperation is palpable. Village head Dachung Gwong and other residents have repeatedly appealed to local authorities to complete the clinic, to no avail. The lack of a functioning health center puts everyone in the community at risk, particularly women and children. The journey to distant clinics is not only arduous but also dangerous, especially at night, when insecurity in the region peaks. The risks were tragically illustrated when resident Laraba Choji lost her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter to an attack by herders while they were returning from the clinic in Vwak.
The Vwak clinic, which serves multiple surrounding communities including Tan-Jol, is woefully under-resourced. According to Doreen Ngwe, the officer in charge of the clinic, the staff are overwhelmed by the volume of patients they receive, exacerbated by a shortage of workers. The facility’s limited resources make it difficult to provide adequate care, particularly during outbreaks of violence between farmers and herders, when the staff are often caught between caring for the wounded and fleeing for their own safety.
Despite the urgent need for healthcare infrastructure in Tan-Jol, the government’s response has been lackluster. In September, UDEME, an investigative platform, submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Plateau State Primary Health Care Development Agency seeking details on the abandoned clinic project. However, weeks later, the request remains unanswered. This silence from the authorities adds to the community’s frustration and sense of abandonment.
The plight of Tan-Jol is a microcosm of the challenges faced by many rural communities in Nigeria, where basic healthcare infrastructure remains inadequate or nonexistent. The unfinished clinic, which was once a beacon of hope, now stands as a stark reminder of the government’s unfulfilled promises. In the meantime, families continue to suffer, with mothers losing babies and communities grieving preventable deaths. Until the clinic is completed and adequately staffed, the people of Tan-Jol will remain at the mercy of a broken healthcare system, where distance and delays can mean the difference between life and death.
