By Ayomide Ladipo & Lois Sambo
The day begins early at Kabusa Primary Healthcare Centre. Before the morning sun fully settles over the community, the waiting area is already alive with activity. The cries of babies in their mothers’ arms. Pregnant women gently rubbing their growing bellies as they wait for antenatal check-ups. Children cling to their parents, some sleepy, others restless. The air is filled with conversations, footsteps, occasional coughs, and the steady rhythm of healthcare workers moving from one patient to another.
Like many Primary Healthcare Centres across Nigeria, the facility receives people carrying different burdens. Some arrive worried about a fever that will not go away. Others come seeking answers to troubling symptoms, routine immunisations for their children, or reassurance that their pregnancy is progressing well. They arrive with questions, fears, discomfort, and uncertainty. Yet, despite the long queues and the challenges, there is something remarkable about the atmosphere. The patients are not anxious for long. They know that by the time they leave, someone will have listened to them, explained what was wrong, and treated them with dignity and care, and they walk out feeling lighter than when they arrived, carrying not just medication, but hope.
