‎Once Forgotten, Atoruru PHC Becomes Beacon of Community Healing ‎

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The Atoruru Primary Healthcare Centre renovated by Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation. Image credit: Foundation 

By Daniel Adaji
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‎The Atoruru Primary Health Care Centre (PHC), once a shadow of hope for rural families in Owan West Local Government Area, has transformed into a thriving hub of healthcare delivery after years of neglect.
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‎Once marked by empty registers, drug stock-outs, and crumbling infrastructure, the facility is now serving as a beacon of community healing following intervention by the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation through the Adopt-a-Health Facility Programme (ADHFP).
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‎For years, the 16,263 people in Atoruru and surrounding farming settlements endured a painful paradox. Women gave birth at home without skilled help, children missed life-saving vaccines, and families spent scarce income traveling long distances for care. Nigeria’s high maternal mortality ratio of 993 per 100,000 live births and under-five mortality of 110 per 1,000 in 2023 played out in this small corner of Edo, where the PHC became a place of last resort.

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‎Though dedicated health workers poured their hearts into service, the centre’s crumbling infrastructure and scarce medicines meant care often fell short of what the community deserved
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‎Nurse Ehiaghe Aigbogun recalls the darkest days: “We would record zero ANC visits some months because women knew we had no iron supplements or malaria prevention. They would rather stay home than waste a day’s farming income on fruitless travel.”
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‎Between January and September 2024, the facility recorded as few as zero antenatal care visits in a month and between zero and four deliveries. Immunisation sessions were erratic, sometimes dropping to nothing at all. Malaria prevention was absent, with no Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) or mosquito nets distributed for months.

We would record zero ANC visits some months because women knew we had no iron supplements or malaria prevention

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‎Mothers like 28-year-old farmer’s wife, Ivie Osaigbovo, had no choice but to deliver at home. “I had my last baby at home with only my mother-in-law to help,” she said. “The clinic had no light, no water, and the midwife told us she had no gloves that day.”
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‎The statistics reflected systemic collapse. Essential medicines were frequently unavailable, records showed months without vaccines, and the malaria burden forced families to seek help elsewhere. Elder Chief Osaro Idahosa recalled, “We spend a lot of money rushing our children to other communities for treatment. The parents had gone to the PHC, but there were no malaria drugs that day.”
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‎That bleak picture began to change in October 2024 when ADHFP stepped in. The intervention brought fresh paint, sealed roofs, delivery beds, vaccine storage, stocked medicines, insecticidal nets, and iron supplements. For the first time in years, residents saw a facility that worked.
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‎The results were immediate. Immunisation, once unreliable, surged: 38 children fully immunised in November 2024 and 48 by February 2025. Antenatal visits jumped from an average of three to nine per month. Deliveries stabilised at four to six monthly, while malaria prevention saw 32 IPT doses and 47 nets distributed to pregnant women by May 2025.

Before, we knew that going to the PHC was useless. Now when my child coughs, I come running because I know help is waiting

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‎“At first I didn’t believe the change,” admitted community midwife Ivie. “Then I saw our ANC register; pages that used to stay empty for weeks were filling up daily.”
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‎For residents, the turnaround is personal. Young mother Blessing Osawe said, “With my first child, I had just two ANC visits because the clinic was so unreliable. This time, I attended all eight sessions; they even gave me iron supplements and malaria prevention every month.”
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‎For 60-year-old farmer Pa Igbinovia, the changes hit closer to home. “Last year, we almost lost my grandson to fever. This year, when my granddaughter fell ill, the PHC had tests, medicines, everything. She’s in school today because of that,” he said.
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‎The facility’s staff also feel the difference. Community Health Extension Worker Grace Enahoro explained, “Before, we recorded zero malaria tests some months because we had no kits. In March 2025 alone, we tested 48 children and 14 adults and treated every positive case immediately.”
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‎Trust in the health centre has rebounded. Outreach sessions now draw more than four times the expected number of participants. Health worker Osayande said, “We expected 20 people; over 80 came! Now when we announce immunisation days, mothers arrive before dawn.”
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‎Today, Atoruru PHC stands as proof that investment and community partnership can reverse years of neglect. Nurse Aigbogun summed up the transformation with quiet pride: “Yesterday, a woman brought her newborn just to show me. Not because the child was sick, but because she wanted me to see what our PHC helped her create.”

Before, we recorded zero malaria tests some months because we had no kits. In March 2025 alone, we tested 48 children and 14 adults and treated every positive case immediately

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‎For families like Eghosa’s, who once avoided the clinic entirely, the facility has become a sanctuary. “Before, we knew that going to the PHC was useless,” she confessed. “Now when my child coughs, I come running because I know help is waiting.”
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‎What was once a place of broken promises has become a centre of life. Atoruru’s story, once forgotten, is now a living example of how a single intervention can restore a community’s faith in healthcare and give new meaning to the phrase: healing begins here.
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