By Ayomide Ladipo & Lois Sambo The day begins early at Kabusa Primary Healthcare Centre. Before the morning sun fully settles over the community, the waiting area is already alive with activity. The cries of babies in their mothers’ arms. Pregnant women gently rubbing their growing bellies as they wait for antenatal check-ups. Children cling to their parents, some sleepy, others restless. The air is filled with conversations, footsteps, occasional coughs, and the steady rhythm of healthcare workers moving from one patient to another. Like many Primary Healthcare Centres across Nigeria, the facility receives people carrying different burdens. Some arrive worried about a fever that will not go away. Others come seeking answers to troubling symptoms, routine immunisations for their children, or reassurance that their pregnancy is progressing well. They arrive with questions, fears, discomfort, and uncertainty. Yet, despite the long queues and the challenges, there is something remarkable about the atmosphere. The patients are not anxious for long. They know that by the time they leave, someone will have listened to them, explained what was wrong, and treated them with dignity and care, and they walk out feeling lighter than when they arrived, carrying not just medication, but hope. Across Nigeria, Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) remain the first and most accessible point of care for millions of people. These centers serve as the starting point for many families, where they first receive diagnoses of illnesses and find reassurance during uncertain times. However, the character and commitment of frontline health workers often bridge the care gap and determine the experience of patients at these PHCs, even in a system that is under immense strain from being understaffed, under-resourced, and facing low trust. In Kabusa, a small emerging town in the nation’s capital, Mr. Yohanna Kusau is a radiant representation of what dedicated service looks like in practice. In December 2025, the PAC4PHC project team conducted a community engagement visit to Toga Sarki in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), FCT. During the visit, residents repeatedly spoke with enthusiasm about a health worker whose presence had significantly improved service delivery at the facility, despite obvious infrastructural challenges. What stood out was how unusual and impactful this level of appreciation was, prompting the PAC4PHC team to take a closer look at what was driving such strong community confidence. Upon visiting the primary healthcare facility, it became clear why residents spoke so highly of him. The team had to wait in the long queue of clients waiting to see him, and each person spent at least five minutes in his consulting room, going in with malaise, fear, and worry, and coming out with reassurance and strength, as all would be well again. Sitting across from him, his warmth and welcome made us feel we were with a familiar big brother. Right there, we knew we had found our first PHC champion. Born in 1974 in Makarfi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Yohanna had always wanted to be a medical doctor, but life had other plans. He wrote the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examination three times before passing it and proceeded to study journalism on a short course at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. However, his path eventually led him to the College of Health Technology in Kaduna, where he trained between 1996 and 1999. Like many graduates at the time, he faced uncertainty in securing employment. He applied to multiple institutions, but opportunities did not materialise immediately. Rather than remain idle, he started a small pharmacy business, using it not only as a source of income but also as an opportunity to stay connected to the healthcare ecosystem within his community. At some point, his wife played a crucial role in sustaining the pharmacy business and their livelihood while he returned to school to further his education, reflecting the quiet partnership behind his achievements. In 2008, nine years after his graduation from the College of Health Technology, he formally joined the health sector, a step that would define the rest of his career. He was sent to Burun in the FCT. For Yohanna, becoming a health worker is a calling and a vow to serve humanity. His guiding principle is to listen attentively to patients, maintain strict confidentiality, and deliver preventive care. “Listening is the first medicine,” he said. “Before any drug, before any test, a patient needs to feel that you have actually heard them, that you believe them, and you are not in a hurry to get to the next person.” He pauses. “Most of the time, if you listen long enough, the patient tells you exactly what is wrong.” Yohanna spoke about confidentiality as a promise. In communities where stigma around illness can follow a family for years, patients at his facilities learn
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