When Temitope Akinpelu was in labour one evening in August 2014, she was taken to the primary health centre (PHC) in Ibeku, the community where she lives in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State. But not a single personnel was around at the facility.
The hairdresser, who is in her early 30s, recalled how her husband frantically combed the community for the health worker who was supposed to be on duty. The search took about an hour before Mr Akinpelu returned to the hospital with the health worker on his motorcycle.
And while the patient was being attended to, her relatives who went with her to the hospital were conscripted to run errands for the overwhelmed health worker, including fetching water from their home. The family also provided every item used for the delivery.
