Health
Only 22 of 290 revitalised PHCs have functional ambulances — Report
Only 22 of the 290 primary healthcare centres listed as revitalised across six states have functional ambulances, with many facilities falling short of the standards set by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, a field investigation by Orodata Science has revealed.
The findings also showed that nearly one-third of the facilities assessed had either not been started, had stalled or been abandoned, or had not been put to use, despite being listed as revitalised.
The findings further highlight a major gap in the readiness of the facilities to deliver effective primary healthcare services and respond to emergencies in the communities they serve.
The states investigated were Abia, Benue, Cross River, Kano, Osun and Taraba.
Orodata Science’s Research and Analytics Team Lead, Hannah Naiyeju, disclosed this during a town hall meeting in Lagos, while presenting findings from the organisation’s MyPHC project at a town hall meeting with healthcare stakeholders, journalists and civil society organisations.
The meeting, organised by Orodata Science in collaboration with Africa Data Hub, featured the launch of the PHC Operational Capability Report 2026.
According to Naiyeju, the MyPHC project evolved from an earlier initiative, Check MyPHC, through which Orodata Science visited more than 1,480 primary healthcare centres across 277 local government areas.
She said the organisation’s platform had attracted more than 90,000 users, while more than 1,500 digital reports had been downloaded.
The project has also involved more than 60 trained data collectors and 38 journalist partners, resulting in 84 data-driven investigative reports, she said.
She noted that the team physically visited 290 unique PHCs across several states to compare government claims of revitalisation with conditions at the facilities.
She said the investigation involved physical visits, geo-coordinated photographs, interviews with health workers and community members, and assessments of construction, water supply, electricity, staffing, equipment, services, accessibility and operational readiness.
Naiyeju said the investigation found significant discrepancies between the facilities listed as revitalised and their actual conditions.
She said, “Of 290, nearly a third of claimed revitalisation never happened. Revitalised facilities lack basic services. Only 22 of the 290 facilities have functional ambulances.”
According to the findings, 153 facilities were recorded as having completed work, while 41 were ongoing, 17 had not been started, 21 were stalled, and five had been completed but remained locked or had not been put into use.
This meant that 91 facilities were either not started, stalled, abandoned or completed but not put into use.
Naiyeju said 14 of the 21 stalled or abandoned facilities had no reason provided for the delay, while five were reportedly abandoned by contractors and one was affected by funding delays.
The research and data analyst added that even among facilities where work had reportedly been completed, the quality of the work remained a concern.
“Of the 153 facilities where work was reported completed, 73 had visible defects,” she said.
The defects, according to the findings, included structural problems, poor finishes and problems with standard installations.
Naiyeju said only 29 per cent of the facilities assessed met the benchmark used to assess whether a PHC qualified as revitalised.
She said 85 facilities met the assessed benchmark, 170 partially met it, while 35 did not meet it at all, adding that the weakest areas identified were equipment and supplies, as well as construction and renovation.
The data analyst said some facilities had buildings that had been renovated but lacked equipment and supplies needed to provide services.
“The facility can be listed as revitalised and still fail the benchmark that revitalisation is supposed to guarantee,” Naiyeju said.
The investigation also found that basic services remained lacking in many of the facilities classified as revitalised.
Naiyeju said the investigation also examined the sources of funding for the facilities and found that the State Ministries of Health funded the highest number, followed by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, the Federal Ministry of Health and other government agencies.
She said 53 of the facilities listed as revitalised had no intervention at all, while 43 facilities had five or more funders, a situation she said could make accountability difficult.
Naiyeju said the findings showed that public money could have been allocated and recorded as spent without corresponding improvements at some facilities.
“190 of 290 facilities, that is more than 50 per cent, have a critical or major gap between the claim and field observation. Public money was allocated and recorded as spent, but in many communities, the work was never done, or was abandoned, or was done fast,” she said.
She called for transparency around PHC revitalisation, including the publication of contracts and payment records and physical verification of facilities.
Naiyeju further stressed that the organisation’s concern was to establish whether funds released for PHC revitalisation had reached the facilities for which they were intended.
“Where is the BHCP fund? That is one thing I want us to discuss here today. Communities, journalists, and oversight bodies should demand the full list of claimed revitalisation, contract and payment records, and field-dependent verification on every facility,” she said.
Naiyeju further said the organisation’s approach was not intended to portray the government as unwilling to improve healthcare but to provide evidence that could support accountability.
“We are not saying the government is not working. We are just saying together we can hold ourselves accountable,” she said.
Naiyeju urged journalists and other stakeholders to use the evidence, photographs and geo-coordinates from its investigation to demand answers from authorities and push for corrective action at affected PHCs.
For his part, the Orodata Science Country Lead, John Eromosele, said the organisation had visited 16 states over the past three years as part of its engagement with PHC leaders, health workers, patients and communities.
He said the organisation’s objective was to identify challenges affecting PHCs and create evidence that could be used by citizens, journalists and policymakers to demand improvements.
Eromosele said PHCs were a critical part of Nigeria’s healthcare system and should receive greater attention from government, civil society and other stakeholders.
He said the organisation had also examined the adequacy of funding for PHCs and whether resources allocated to the facilities actually reached them.
“There are a lot of resources, funding that are available to the healthcare sector, but we don’t even tap into one third of them. There are a lot of resources,” Eromosele said.
He also called for greater investment in electricity, waste management, climate resilience, training and technology at PHCs.
The country director stressed that PHCs should not be left out of the country’s transition to alternative energy sources, especially solar power, because reliable electricity is essential for healthcare delivery.
He also advocated the use of technology to provide continuous training for health workers in remote communities, particularly amid insecurity that could make physical training difficult.
On the wider health workforce, Eromosele expressed concern that some doctors were leaving clinical practice for technology and other sectors, saying investment in professional development could help retain health workers.
Eromosele said the team would continue engaging governments, PHC managers and communities to verify the data and track changes at the facilities.
Offering clarifications on the findings, the Executive Secretary of the Osun State Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr Shina Igbalaye, stated that not all PHCs were supported through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and that some relied entirely on state and local government funding.
He noted that Osun had 800 PHCs, but only 332 were supported by the BHCPF, leaving more than 500 dependent on state and local government funding.
Igbalaye also said the BHCPF had remained an important source of support for PHCs but had faced delays, noting that the state was only beginning to receive its first quarter 2026 disbursement.
Responding to the findings, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, Ibrahim Mustapha, said the state was open to scrutiny, noting that the government had continued to improve infrastructure and staffing at the primary healthcare level.
Mustapha said Lagos renovated at least 72 primary healthcare centres in the previous year, adding that the state had about 346 PHCs and was continuing to improve the remaining facilities.
He said the improvements included new construction and reconstruction, while local governments, the Federal Government and partners were also supporting PHC infrastructure.
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