How an MSF driver navigates roadblocks to care in Nigeria

1. Fallen trees

I drive emergency patients to other referral hospitals that can handle more complex issues than we can here. But in Cross river, this is not always simple. The first challenge we have is the weather. When rainy season comes, there are windstorms that knock down trees. It can happen suddenly, when you are already out on the road because the rain can come at any time. If you don’t take a machete, a cutlass, or a chainsaw with you, you can end up getting blocked by the fallen trees until the villagers can help you remove them. This can seriously delay patients getting to hospitals, which can have potentially life-threatening consequences. 

2. Waterlogged roads  

The second challenge we face is the road. From May to October, when it is raining very heavily, the soil’s texture is very difficult to drive on: hilly, muddy, and slippery. Some of my colleagues have spent almost half of the day trying to dig out the car when we get stuck. Even the off-road vehicles we use sometimes struggle in the mud and become stuck, wheels spinning but not moving anywhere. We have to make sure all cars come with all-terrain tires and an electrical winch so the driver can get himself out. 

3. Broken bridges  

In this area, there are a lot of bridges we have to cross when we are driving around. However, these bridges were constructed in 1973, when I was still in primary school, and to this day, those bridges are still the same ones we drive on now. These are simple wooden bridges and you have vehicles crossing with a load of more than 30 tonnes. Just today, two bridges collapsed. Sometimes when we drive over these delicate bridges, all the passengers have to get out and walk across to reduce the weight. 

4. High costs  

When I first joined MSF, I worked hard to explain to the community what MSF is and what we do. Drivers are often the number-one advertiser for MSF, since the MSF vehicle is the first thing people see. I would encourage people to go to the MSF clinic. [I tell them,] “If you are sick, you come to the facility and MSF will treat you.” But the challenge is that in the rainy season, the price of taxis and transportation goes up. It can be around four times higher. If people don’t come to the clinic, then we cannot refer them, and I cannot drive them to other hospitals.

The current MSF project in Cross River has existed since 2021, supporting patients who have little to no access to health care. Despite the challenges, our teams are still ready to drive patients who need care to the hospital, rain or shine.