A public health physician, Dr. R.O. Akande, has warned that worsening insecurity across Nigeria is crippling rural healthcare delivery, forcing medical personnel to abandon their duty posts and exposing millions of vulnerable residents to preventable illnesses and deaths.
Dr. Akande delivered the warning while presenting a lecture titled “The Impact of Insecurity on Rural Medical Practice in Nigeria” during the Association of Rural Surgical Practitioners of Nigeria (ARSPON), Oyo State Chapter, Ogbomoso Zonal Surgical Outreach and Workshop.
She described insecurity as one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s healthcare system, particularly in rural communities where primary healthcare facilities serve as the first point of contact for millions of citizens.
According to her, persistent insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and attacks on health facilities have significantly weakened healthcare delivery by destroying infrastructure, displacing health workers and disrupting essential medical services.
Citing available research, Akande noted that the Boko Haram insurgency has claimed more than 37,500 lives and displaced about 2.4 million people, while armed banditry in the North-West and North-Central regions has led to the closure of numerous health facilities and schools.
She said only 62 per cent of health facilities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states remain fully functional, while the rest provide limited or no services because of insecurity, shortage of personnel and inadequate medical equipment.
The physician also highlighted the increasing attacks on healthcare workers, revealing that dozens of medical personnel have been kidnapped or killed in recent years, making rural medical practice increasingly dangerous.
He explained that doctors, nurses and other health workers now face threats at home, while travelling and even within health facilities, leading many professionals to relocate to safer urban centres.
“The protection of health workers is fundamental to protecting the nation’s healthcare system,” he stressed.
Dr. Akande further observed that insecurity has contributed to poor maternal and child health outcomes, declining immunisation coverage, rising malnutrition and outbreaks of infectious diseases in conflict-affected communities.
She warned that ,the destruction of health infrastructure and disruption of medical supply chains have reversed years of progress towards universal health coverage and sustainable development.
To address the challenge, he recommended rebuilding damaged health facilities with improved security measures, strengthening collaboration between government, communities and development partners, improving security around rural health centres, and providing emergency security training and psychosocial support for healthcare workers.
She also advocated addressing the root causes of insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, weak institutions and porous borders, through coordinated government interventions.
Concluding the lecture, Akande said healthcare delivery remains indispensable to national development, warning that unless insecurity is decisively tackled, Nigeria’s efforts to reduce preventable deaths, improve life expectancy and achieve universal health coverage would remain under serious threat.
She emphasised that protecting healthcare workers is a non-negotiable step towards safeguarding the nation’s health system and ensuring quality medical care for rural populations.