Some residents now resort to self-medication while many women rely on TBAs for child delivery because the illegal sit-at-home order has affected operations of public health facilities in the region.
On a Monday morning in April 2022, Lawrence Obianozie, a resident of Umuaguma, Mgbidi, in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State, accompanied his 35-year-old daughter in-law, Vivian, to a private hospital for “urgent” medical attention.
The separatist group later amended the order to be implemented only on the days Mr Kanu appears in court. But despite this, many residents of the five South-east states, including Imo, have been observing the Monday sit-at-home order, mostly out of fear. A leader of ‘Autopilot,’ a faction of the IPOB, Simon Ekpa, who has been suspended by the IPOB faction led by Mr Kanu, is behind the sustenance of the order.Mr Ekpa to stop issuing the order in the South-east. But Mr Ekpa described the letter as “fake,” claiming it was written by the State Security Service and not the IPOB leader, andthat the illegal order would continue to be enforced until Mr Kanu speaks to him directly in Finland, where he resides.
PREMIUM TIMES’ investigation also showed that the enforcers of the sit-at-home day order usually allow patients in emergencies to access healthcare unharmed, although fear prevents many from stepping out on those days.“On sit-at-home days, aside from emergencies, everybody is afraid to go to any health clinic. We don’t open on such days either,” Ann Igbielo, the Officer in-charge of Ugbele PHC in Mgbidi, said.
“The truth is that this sit-at-home has been affecting healthcare services because patients coming from a far distance can’t come to access healthcare services due to the lockdown,” Deborah Mgbeokwere, a nurse, told this newspaper. “For instance, some have injections today , but can’t come today. They will skip it and come the next day. And it affects their recovery because they have abused the drugs.
He added that on occasions when drugstores are closed, residents would beg their neighbours for drugs even without a doctor’s prescription.Save for a Sienna vehicle parked at an entrance, there was no indication that health workers were at work in Orlu Primary Health Centre when PREMIUM TIMES’ reporter visited the facility on a Saturday morning in July.Doors and windows were also shut. There was pin-drop silence.
Before now, health workers at the facility felt safe. But after gunmen, believed to be the Biafran agitators, repeatedly attacked the Orlu Police Area Command near the facility, the workers became scared. Mrs Ikebundu also registered at a nearby private maternity clinic, which a PREMIUM TIMES reporter discovered is being managed by a traditional birth attendant .
Mrs Ikebundu’s mother in-law, Ngozi Ikebundu, said during emergency labour, many seek medical assistance at any nearby maternity clinic. When some patients in emergencies are unable to visit his chemist shop on sit-at-home days, Mr Mmerigbo meets them at their residence. But sit-at-home enforcers would stop him on the road for interrogation.“On one occasion, they stopped me and enquired why I was moving about on a sit-at-home day. I told them that I went to treat somebody in an emergency and showed them what I used for the treatment. They saw it and asked me to go,” he narrated.
Kenneth Abosi, the chief medical director of Iruoma Hospital, a private hospital in the community, said despite the fear of gunmen, residents still troop into the facility on Mondays to access healthcare.“At times, we treat more people on that Monday sit-at-home. More people come to our hospital than other days,” Mr Abosi said.
“There was a woman in labour here. When she was taken to the healthcare centre they didn’t see anyone there. That’s why many prefer to go elsewhere. She was later assisted by the old woman I told you about to deliver her baby,” she explained.Matthew Nnamani said because healthcare workers are rarely at the PHC , especially on Mondays, his wife prefers to access healthcare from a private maternity clinic, also operated by a TBA.
“It is a lot of danger because we have more women at risk of having complications and even death,” he said of reliance on TBAs for deliveries. “Before now, they immunised children on Mondays and Wednesdays. But they stopped immunising on Mondays because of the sit-at-home,” Mrs Ajibo said. “Workers come to work here on Mondays for possible emergencies. But they render only skeletal services,” said a staff of the facility, who identified himself simply as Kingsley.
“If you don’t come to work any day, we will subtract salaries from you. We have electronic clock-in and clock-out devices installed in most of our general hospitals now,” he said.
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