On 25 July, Emmanuel Aralu, a youth leader in Ayetoro in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State in south-west Nigeria, welcomed his second child. But like many women in the coastal community, his wife shunned the local primary healthcare centre (PHC) for the delivery of the baby. Instead, “a nurse nearby helped out.”
Mr Aralu’s wife lives in Ayetoro but had embarked on a two-hour journey to register for antenatal service at the state’s specialist hospital in Okitipupa, the headquarters of the neighbouring local government area (LGA}.
“The health centre in Ayetoro is not just bad, it is also costly,” Mr Aralu told PREMIUM TIMES.
