Spatial Distribution of Government-Owned Primary Healthcare Facilities in Michika Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Nigeria: A Geospatial Assessment

Equitable access to primary healthcare depends as much on where facilities are placed as on how many exist. This paper assesses the distribution of government-owned healthcare facilities in Michika Local Government Area (LGA), Adamawa State, using Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis. Facility locations were captured in the field, linked to attribute data gathered through questionnaires administered to facility managers, and mapped against the sixteen political wards of the LGA. Thirty questionnaires were administered and all were returned. Set against the 2006 census population of 155,302 and a projected 2013 population of about 209,900, the surveyed facilities translate to roughly one facility for every 5,200 people in 2006 and one for every 7,000 by 2013. These ratios mask the more important issue of location, since access in a mountainous, largely rural LGA is governed by distance and terrain rather than by headcount alone. The paper discusses the findings in light of Nigerian and international literature and closes with recommendations on siting new facilities, staffing, data management and community participation.