Closure of Only Clinic Leaves IDP Women Vulnerable
By Hadiza Abdulrahman
Front view of the abandoned mobile clinic, now used as a spot for relaxation and a dumping ground for waste and farm produce. Photo: Hadiza Abdulrahman
Since November 18, 2022, the only operational clinic serving thousands of displaced people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp Wass on the outskirts of Abuja has remained shut.
The closure followed an altercation between camp residents and a healthcare worker accused of diverting donated drugs for personal gain.
“We had issues with the health worker. My people wanted to beat him because they believed he was stealing and selling the drugs. So, AMAC (Abuja Municipal Area Council) removed their health worker and locked the clinic,” said Usman Ibrahim, Secretary of the Wassa IDP Camp.
“We found records that confirmed the allegations were not true. Some drugs were still in the clinic, but they had expired,” he noted.
Adding, “Though tensions were eventually resolved and the same health worker occasionally returns to conduct house-to-house vitamin A and deworming exercises, the facility remains sealed, leaving the camp’s residents especially women and children dangerously exposed”
Alternatives to Fill Medical Gap
“We now patronise local pharmacies. Women give birth with the help of traditional birth attendants who were trained by organisations,” said Hafsat Hamman, the women leader in the camp. “We appeal to AMAC to reopen the clinic and assign a new doctor. There are expired drugs that should be removed and empty containers everywhere.”
“We have seen many cases where women with three to four months of pregnancy just start bleeding and lose the baby,” Hafsat recounted. “One woman with a seven-month pregnancy took medication from a chemist and started bleeding. Her husband rushed her to a hospital in the middle of the night, but it was too late. She delivered a stillbirth.”
Mamman said, the consequences of this healthcare vacuum have been dire. Pregnant women face alarming risks. Miscarriages have become common, and some expectant mothers never make it to the hospital in time.
Hafsat Mamman. Photo: Hadiza Abdulrahman
“Even the nearby clinics are too expensive for some of us. Sometimes we have to take loans or borrow money just to afford basic treatment,” said Martha Simo, who has lived in the Wassa IDP Camp for over ten years. “Living here is challenging, but it’s even more difficult when health issues come up at night.
Chemist shops charge a lot, and we often can’t pay upfront some give us medicine on credit. When the clinic in the camp was still functional, we used to take our children there, even for routine vaccinations like BCG. But now, we’re left with nowhere to go.”
“We don’t even have money to buy sanitary items. Some of us have no choice but to use scraps of cloth or other materials during our menstruation,”
Martha Simo. Photo: Hadiza Abdulrahman
“I have lived in this camp for 10 years. I don’t run a business I’m a farmer,” said Esther Yusuf a displaced person from Gwoza, Borno State. “I’ve never used the clinic because it has been shut down for a long time, and even before that, there were rarely any health workers present. Sometimes, I was told the doctor had gone out or the place was locked.”
When the children fall sick, I go to the chemist and explain the symptoms, and they give us medicine. That’s how we manage,” she explained.
Esther Yusuf, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the interview, shared that her previous pregnancies had been without complications, and she gave birth to all three of her children right inside the camp without medical assistance.
“I go for antenatal care in Waru or Karshi when I can afford the transport. Sometimes, I have to borrow money from neighbors and pay them back later.
She appealed to authorities to reopen the clinic. “We really need that clinic to be functional again, especially for emergencies. We need good drugs and a doctor who will be available to help us.”
Esther Yusuf. Photo: Hadiza Abdulrahman
Salamatu Isa, a trained birth attendant who works at a local herbal medicine shop, said “In the past, bleeding during childbirth was a major problem, but the training we received from the TY Danjuma Foundation helped us manage it better.
They gave us gloves, a blood pressure checker, and taught us how to handle deliveries. Still, we need more support from the government.”
Other Health concerns
According to the women leader, Hafsat Hamman, children in the Wassa IDP Camp are equally vulnerable. “Convulsions, infections, and malnutrition often go untreated,” she said. “Some parents resort to traditional healers or herbal remedies because they have no other options. Just recently, we lost two children to what chemists suspected was convulsion.”
She added that poor water and sanitation conditions are worsening the crisis. “There’s no clean water, and up to five people share a single toilet. This makes it easy for infections to spread, especially among women and children, and further complicates health conditions,” Hafsat lamented.
When children are sick, we visit the chemist and explain the symptoms. If we’re lucky, they help; if not, we try herbs,”
Mobile Clinic Inception
In March 2016, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, along with Vantage Habitat inaugurated the mobile clinic for the Wassa IDP camp in Abuja.
This brought a huge sigh of relief to the residents of Wassa as they could now have access to basic health care services such as antenatal care, treatment for malaria, measles, family planning services, Hepatitis tests and even child births.
Its eventual closure has pushed camp residents back into reliance on pharmacies and traditional healers, underscoring a critical gap in sustainable healthcare provision.
Medical Experts concern
Dr. Adebayo Barnabas of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital said the implications of the shutdown extend beyond individual patients and could have ripple effects throughout families and the wider society.
He emphasised that the absence of antenatal services denies pregnant women vital medical support and screenings that help detect and manage complications early.
“On the unborn child, it will impact the growth of the child in terms of preterm delivery, small for gestational age babies because the mother will lack the basic nutrients for growth. The risk of stillbirth and complicated deliveries will also be high.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended a minimum of eight antenatal care (ANC) contacts during pregnancy, an increase from the earlier standard of four visits.
This shift aims to enhance the early detection and management of potential risks, improve maternal satisfaction and involvement in care, and ultimately reduce the incidence of stillbirths and neonatal deaths which the women lack.
A public health expert, Karima Abdulaziz, raised serious concerns about the lack of basic amenities in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Abuja, especially the Wassa camp, warning that the situation poses severe health risks to residents particularly women and children.
Abdulaziz noted that the absence of clean water, sanitation facilities, adequate food, and shelter is fueling the spread of both infectious and vector borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, and malaria.
She stressed that the vulnerable population children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers are at the highest risk, not just from disease but also from severe malnutrition. “Many children are already showing signs of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies like vitamin A, iron, and iodine due to limited access to nutritious food,” she added.
“The psychological burden of living in such dire environments is heavy. People are not just physically displaced they’re emotionally and mentally affected as well,” she said.
Abdulaziz urged government agencies and humanitarian organizations to implement urgent public health interventions. These include improved sanitation, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, nutritional support, and mental health services.
“Addressing the health crisis in IDP camps requires a comprehensive and coordinated public health approach,” she concluded. “This is not just about infrastructure; it’s about saving lives and restoring dignity.”
CSO Concern
The Executive Director of Wura Hope Women Initiative, Yusuf Adeniyi Rasheed, described the situation as critical and life-threatening.
Rasheed noted that the camp is home to over 5,000 individuals, with women and children under five making up about 70% of the population. He warned that the lack of medical services endangers not only the camp’s residents but also poses a health threat to neighboring communities.
He called on relevant authorities, including the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, and Area Council officials, to urgently provide a functioning health facility in the camp.
Abuja Municipal Area Council Response
Mr. Abdulkareem Mustapha, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Health Department of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), declined to comment via a telephone call, stating that the Area Council was on strike at the time the report was being compiled.
All efforts to reach the health worker involved in the dispute with camp members were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls.
International Humanitarian Law
Under international humanitarian and human rights law, displaced persons like those in Wassa Camp are entitled to adequate health care, shelter, and sanitation.
Instruments such as the Geneva Conventions and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement clearly affirm the obligation of governments to safeguard the health and dignity of internally displaced populations particularly women and children.
Also, the Kampala Convention Africa’s first binding IDP treaty affirms that governments must ensure dignified shelter, health, and hygiene for displaced populations.”
Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) promotes health and well-being for all, with a strong focus on reducing maternal and child mortality and ensuring access to essential healthcare.
The closure of the Wassa IDP clinic directly undermines this goal, leaving women and children without critical services and exposing them to preventable health risks.
Call to Action
The situation in Wassa IDP camp is a stark reminder that access to basic healthcare is not a privilege but a fundamental human right.
Government agencies, NGOs, and well-meaning Nigerians must act swiftly to reopen and equip the clinic, deploy qualified health workers, and ensure a steady supply of essential medicines.
Addressing the healthcare needs of displaced women and children is not just a moral duty it is a national imperative aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3.
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