Sixty-nine (69) primary healthcare facilities have been closed in Katsina State as a result of ongoing banditry attacks and other terrorist actions.
The state’s most severely impacted towns’ health centers were ordered to close by Governor Aminu Masari’s administration.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday (today), Dr. Shamsudeen Yahaya, Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency, stated that the impacted facilities were situated in Jibia, Safana, Batsari, Faskari, Sabuwa, and other comparable communities with security issues.
The government official narrated that two of such recently renovated facilities were burnt down by terrorists in Batsari Local Government Area.
Yahaya added that there was a lamentation from the staff of the Agency who work in the hard-to-reach communities every week.
He noted that some of them have been requesting to be transferred to other areas considered to be safer.
He said, “Some of the facilities especially in those compromised local government areas have a challenge accessing them. For example, we renovated two facilities in Batsari but they were attacked and burnt by bandits.
Right now, about 69 facilities are closed down in Jibia, Safana, Batsari, Sabuwa, Faskari and other LGAs due to insecurity and we had some of our staff that were kidnapped but later on they were released.
Another challenge is that almost every week, we receive requests from our staff, especially females, that they should be moved from those areas to either Katsina, Batagarawa, or Kaita. These are the issues that we are facing.”
