Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Makwalla is a small community of about 800 inhabitants. It is located at the bank of River Kaduna, situated in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The major occupation of the inhabitants of the community is farming. They farm to feed themselves and families. But they are not exactly very enlightened. On health issues, they know so little or next to nothing.
Thirty-year-old Zainab Abu is married to Kabiru Hassan, a farmer in the community. She has a unique record. Apart from the fact that she is a mother of 12 children, she has been delivered of three sets of twins. And the community was happy and proud of her.
But to ice the cake, only recently Zainab was delivered of quadruplets. This was a thing of joy to all, who described her record as a remarkable feat.
One thing to remember is that all the children were born outside hospital facility. Zainab confirmed this fact saying that she delivers sometimes with the help of traditional birth attendants and sometimes, through self-help.
The story of Zainab would have been complete but for a recent sad very event. Two of her quadruplets passed away and she has been very sad. May be, it would not have happened if she was properly cared for.
The absence of a nearby primary healthcare centre or health post has been a source of frustration to many women of her community, who spend time thinking of help-line each time they get pregnant
She told her story: “I have been given birth to twins in the village without going for any antenatal care. I don’t also see any health expert. This time around, I had all my four babies in my husband’s house, without any assistance from anyone.
“I went through pains after my delivery. Indeed, it was not easy carrying the pregnancy and giving birth to four babies in a village without any support. I think it is only God. To God be the glory, I am fine.
“I chose to give birth at home instead of going to the far-away hospital, which involves using the local commercial canoes to cross the river to access a hospital in town. Alternatively, we use motorcycles to go to another community on the other side of the river.
“The worst thing is that, once it is 6:30 pm, the canoe operators are off the river bank. Any woman who falls into labour at night can only be managed within the village.
“The major problem we have here is the distance to the urban centre. There is also no safe transport to go to the hospitals in these centres. I have had twins for three times, but this is the first time I am giving birth to four babies at once.”
Her husband was grateful to God over his wife’s safe delivery. He, however, disapproved of the hardship women go through due to lack of hospitals or any primary health care facility in the community:
“Most women in the community face great challenges due to distance to the closest primary health centre, which is located by the other side of the river. Most of us here are used to local canoes as means of crossing the river in other to link up with the city for important transactions.
«My wife has never gone for any medical diagnosis or antenatal since we got married. We have been given birth at home with or without assistance from traditional birth attendants. She has had 12 children like that, but some have died.»
District Head of Makwalla Kurmi, Mohammadu Bashiru, lamented: “Pregnant women living on the other side of the river suffer a lot while crossing in canoes to access healthcare on this side. Some of them lose their babies on their way to the health centres while some even deliver their babies on transit.”
A health expert who spoke to Daily Sun on the condition of anonymity advised government to complete and equip an abandoned health facility in the community, build a bridge across the river and train new and existing traditional birth attendants.
He added that Kaduna State Government, development partners such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dangote Foundation, Tukur Buratai Foundation and Oando Foundation could come to the aid of Makwalla as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).