The Atoruru Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) in Owan West local government area of Edo State has emerged as a model of community healthcare revival after years of neglect, following intervention by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation.
Once a shadow of hope plagued by drug shortages, dilapidated structures, and near-empty registers, the facility now thrives under the foundation’s Adopt-a-Health Facility Programme (ADHFP).
For years, over 16,000 residents of Atoruru and surrounding settlements faced a grim reality — mothers gave birth at home without skilled attendants, children missed vital vaccines, and families spent scarce income travelling long distances for treatment.
The national maternal mortality ratio of 993 per 100,000 live births and under-five mortality of 110 per 1,000 in 2023 were not mere statistics here — they were lived experiences.
Nurse Ehiaghe Aigbogun recalls those difficult years: “We would record zero ANC visits some months because women knew we had no iron supplements or malaria prevention.
“They would rather stay home than waste a day’s farming income on fruitless travel,” she said.
Between January and September 2024, records showed months without a single antenatal visit, deliveries reduced to as low as four per month, and immunisation sessions halted entirely at times. With no mosquito nets or preventive malaria treatment, the burden of disease deepened.
Twenty-eight-year-old farmer’s wife, Ivie Osaigbovo, said her last delivery took place at home.
“The clinic had no light, no water, and the midwife told us she had no gloves that day,” she recounted.
Community elder, Chief Osaro Idahosa, also recalled, “We spent a lot of money rushing our children to other communities for treatment. There were days you’d go to the PHC and find no malaria drugs at all.”
That bleak reality began to change in October 2024 when the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation intervened. The centre was renovated with new roofing, painted walls, delivery beds, stocked pharmacies, vaccine storage units, insecticidal nets and essential supplements.
The results were swift and remarkable. By November 2024, 38 children were fully immunised; the figure rose to 48 by February 2025. Antenatal visits jumped from three to nine monthly, and deliveries stabilised at four to six. Malaria prevention improved, with 32 IPT doses and 47 mosquito nets given to pregnant women by May 2025.
The community health extension worker, Grace Enahoro, shared: “Before, we recorded zero malaria tests some months because we had no kits. In March 2025 alone, we tested 48 children and 14 adults and treated every positive case immediately.”
The renewed trust is visible. Outreach sessions now attract four times the expected number of participants.
“We expected 20 people; over 80 came! Now when we announce immunisation days, mothers arrive before dawn,” said health worker Osayande.
For many residents, the transformation is deeply personal.
“With my first child, I had just two ANC visits because the clinic was unreliable. This time, I attended all eight sessions and received iron supplements every month,” said young mother Blessing Osawe.
Sixty-year-old farmer, Pa Igbinovia, added: “Last year, we almost lost my grandson to fever. This year, when my granddaughter fell ill, the PHC had tests, medicines, everything. She’s alive and back in school because of that.”
