Juliana Innocent lives in Unwaba-Oju, a village in Otahe Ward of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State in the north-central region of Nigeria. Accessing health services for Mrs Innocent and other residents of Unwaba-Oju is difficult as there is no health centre in the village. The closest community with a primary health care centre to her village is Ogobia, which lies at the end of a 70 km unpaved road.
“While going to Ogobia for antenatal care in March 2021, I had an accident that fractured my leg and hurt my back,” she narrated. Months later, when Mrs Innocent delivered a boy, the baby had tremor, an abnormal rhythmic shaking in the arms, feet, hands, head and legs of newborns.
“I took the baby to hospital in Ogobia and the doctor said that he was suffering from low blood sugar. We were on admission for two weeks,” she said.
