Our nation continues to suffer a severe dearth of modern health facilities for people of all social status despite the array of human expertise and the material endowment with which God has blessed our nation. Consequently, we have one of the worst health indices in the world, for example, the life expectancy of Nigerians at 53 years compared to our neighbors in Ghana, where it  is  66  years.  It  is  75  years  in  war-torn  Iraq  and  82  years  in  Canada. Just  for  being  born  in  Ghana  a  nation  considered  our  junior  partner  in  the West   African   sub-region,   a   Ghanaian   has   13   years   of   longevity   over   the Nigerian  colleague  born  the  same  day  despite  our  enormous  human  and material  wealth  compared  with  Ghana.  Successive  Nigerian  governments  at every   level   have   spectacularly   failed   to   provide   or   maintain   health   care structures  and  unless  the  communities  like  ours  and  the  private  sector  step in  with  substantive  plans  to  bring  about  change  and  reverse  the  ugly  trends that  we  are  currently  experiencing,  we  can  only  expect  that  things  will  get worse.  Ugly  trends  like  the  poor  life  expectancy  mentioned  above  and  an even    uglier    maternal    mortality    rate    (number    of    women    dying    during childbirth)   of   630   per   100,000   compared   to   Ghana   (350/100000),   South Africa   (300/100000),   and   Canada   (12/10000),   is   telling   on   our   collective responsibility both as a nation and community that should care.

Remoland    has    512,000    people    with    about    310,000    living    in    Sagamu according   to   Wikipedia.   It   is   interesting   to   note   that   more   people   live   In Remoland  geographically  designated  as  Lagos  state.  The  basic  healthcare needs  of  Remo  dwellers  like  that  of  other  Nigerians  is  lacking  evident  by damning National Statistics which has our life expectancy of 53 years.

Our  people  and  community  have  for  too  long  depended  on  government  to provide care and the intersectoral facilities that make healthcare work and it

is  obviously  time  that  we  as  a  community  look  inward  to  supplement  what the  government  is  doing  or  in  most  cases  lack.  The  issues  of  our  very  poor healthcare  are  not  just  a  problem  for  the  poor,  it  is  a  terrible  menace  to  the affluent  and  powerful  also.  When  the  most  powerful  in  our  midst  succumb to   diseases   that   are   eminently   screen-able   and   treatable   like   Breast   and Colon  cancer  because  we  did  not  do  our  due  diligence,  the  weak  and  the mighty fall prey.

The healthcare system in  Ogun state is made up of  a  3-tier  system – the Primary,  Secondary and  Tertiary healthcare levels.  The  health  systems  are further  divided  into  various  zones  which  include  –  Remo  zone,  Ijebu  zone, Egba zone and Yewa zone.

Approximately  60%  of  the  population  in  Ogun  state  patronise  the  private hospitals, which    means    the    private    sector    contributes the largest to healthcare services within the  state. However,   the government has the overall regulatory responsibility for healthcare delivery in the state.

Remo land is made up of three local governments,  namely  Sagamu,  Remo North and  Ikenne  Local  Governments,  with an estimated 42 primary health centres.  The  Secondary healthcare facilities include  –  Ishara  State  Hospital, Iperu    General Hospital,    Ilishan General Hospital and Ikenne General Hospital.   The only tertiary hospital in   Ogun   State is situated in Remo, Olabisi Onabanjo  Teaching Hospital,  Sagamu.  These are all public-sector healthcare facilities.  Ilishan  Remo also boasts of a missionary quasi-private tertiary hospital,    Babcock University    Teaching Hospital.    Remoland is endowed when it comes to healthcare services provision,  particularly for tertiary care services.

In addition,   there   are    several    private   hospitals    in    all   the    three    local governments   and   Local   Community   Development   Areas   (LCDAs)   in   Remo that  also  provide  secondary care services.  There are also private  Community Pharmacies,    Proprietary    Patent    Medicine    Vendors    (PPMVs),    Traditional Medicines,  Missionary  Hospitals,  Pharmaceutical companies  (manufacturers & importers), and     Pharmaceutical wholesalers     –     all components of comprehensive healthcare service provision in Remo Land.