Nigeria: Special Report - Shut Clinic Deepens Healthcare Crisis in Benue IDP Camp

What the report says

Premium Times reports that a shut clinic inside the Anyiin Internally Displaced Persons camp in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State is worsening access to basic healthcare for displaced families, especially pregnant women and young children. The camp residents interviewed described having to seek care outside the settlement, where transport costs, fees and limited income can delay treatment or make it unaffordable.

The article centers on the case of Anaor Saawuan, who said her eight-month-old granddaughter became ill in April 2026 and later died after treatment outside the camp. Saawuan and other residents said the clinic inside the camp once provided free medicines and easier access to care, but is now closed. Another resident, Naomi Teryen, said she has struggled to pay for antenatal visits and medicines during pregnancy, and has not been able to afford some recommended checks.

Premium Times traced the closure to the end of external support for the facility. Former workers said Médecins Sans Frontières helped establish services in 2018, later followed by support from the Victim Support Fund, but funding and staffing problems made the clinic difficult to sustain after 2021. A community health worker and a UNICEF-linked consultant told the outlet that some supplies intended to be free, including multiple micronutrient supplements for pregnant women, should not be sold.

The report also places the camp’s situation within Nigeria’s broader displacement and humanitarian crisis, noting that many internally displaced people in Benue and elsewhere rely on aid-linked services that can weaken when NGO support ends. The clinic building was described as locked and deserted during Premium Times’ visit.