JDPC, Stakeholders Hold Townhall Meeting, Highlight Challenges Undermining Healthcare Delivery in Oyo
In a renewed bid to reposition primary healthcare delivery and improve maternal health outcomes in Oyo State, the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) convened a stakeholder town hall meeting on Thursday in Ibadan.
The event, held at the JDPC office in the Bashorun area, was implemented under the SPARK (Strengthening Accountability and Resilience in Knowledge) project, funded by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
The gathering, which served as a feedback mechanism for the SPARK initiative, gave community health champions a platform to highlight bottlenecks hindering effective healthcare delivery across primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in the state, which continue to limit residents’ access.
The Health champions who took turns detailing challenges across various PHCs flagged several critical concerns; including Unruly behavior and unprofessional conduct by some health workers toward patients.
Others included unjustified hikes in healthcare service fees and medication prices, as well as caregivers extorting patients during critical emergencies.
The most crucial points remained severe shortages of qualified personnel during critical hours, leading to avoidable tragedies and patient fatalities, and lack of confidentiality at some PHCs.
During the event, a health champion, Lydia Adeshina from Egbeda Local Government Area decried the avoidable death of an expectant mother at the Alakia PHC on Wednesday, the 21st of Oct., 2026.
According to her, the expectant mother arrived at the center the previous night before developing severe complications after childbirth around 4:00 AM, However, the champion blamed caregivers who attended to her for delaying her prompt referral to another healthcare facility where she could be supported.
Alhaji Bolagade Raimi, the champion from Oluyole Local Government also shared another painful tear-jerking experience.
He alleged that a child who was brought in to access care at Adaramoko PHC recently lost his life due to the incompetence of the caregiver on duty to set up oxygen procedures.
The Medical Officer of Health for Lagelu Local Government Authority Dr. Alabi Aderonke, responding on behalf of other MOH present lauded the JDPC for the meeting, noting that the forum would help bridge communication gaps between residents and the state’s health sector.
Dr. Aderonke While acknowledging that most of the feedback was valid and some unverified, assured stakeholders of their readiness to collaborate with Ward Development Committee (WDC) champions to change the narrative.
The Head of Democracy and Governance at JDPC, Mr. Jide Bamgbose, clarified that the town hall was not intended to witch-hunt or embarrass stakeholders, but rather to foster quality service delivery across all state PHCs.
He urged the government to treat healthcare as a vital social service to humanity rather than a profit-driven enterprise.
The Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), Dr. Olusola Akande, emphasized that the gathering was critical to improving state healthcare.
He encouraged medical officers to view the platform as an opportunity to receive firsthand feedback and recommended that the town hall become a quarterly event.
Dr. Akande further charged medical personnel to urgently address staff attitude issues, service costs, and medication pricing.
Mrs. Adedeji Romoke, representing the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Muideen Babatunde Olatunji assured participants that the challenges highlighted during the meeting would be addressed promptly.
