Yohanna Kusau: A Quiet Champion of Primary Healthcare in Nigeria

Ayomide Ladipo and 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 activities. The cries of babies in their mothers’ arms. Pregnant women gently rubbing their growing belly as they wait for antenatal check-up. Children cling to their parents, some sleepy, others restless. The air is filled with conversations, footsteps, occasional cough, 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 would 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 Centres (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 radiating 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 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 proceeding 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 materialize 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 call and 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 learned that what they said in that consultation room stayed there, and that trust became currency. People who would have otherwise stayed at home and nursed their ailment visited the PHC.

In 2012, four years into his posting, Yohanna Kusau went back to ABU, Zaria, for a diploma in community health service.  He enrolled at the National Open University of Nigeria in 2017 and graduated with a B.Sc. in Public Health in 2023 at age forty-nine. He looked mildly surprised when asked why he was constantly going back to school. “Because my patients deserve a health worker who is still learning and growing. The day I stop learning is the day I start failing them, and I don’t want to be that person,” he answered.

In 2016, he was transferred to Pyakasa in FCT and spent nine years at the community before being transferred to Toga Sarki in February 2025, where we first encountered him. In January 2026, he was transferred to Kabusa.

When asked about what Yohanna Kusau contributed to each facility he was posted to, colleagues and community members consistently described qualities that go beyond formal job descriptions. Foremost among these was his ability to listen, something they all mentioned first. “He listens to every patient,” a colleague said. “Not the way you pretend to listen while writing notes. He actually listens and probes. He asks follow-up questions. He remembers the things you told him a long time ago in passing. Patients notice these things, and they talk about them. It makes them feel seen.”

Stories of his willingness to help those in need are common. One particularly moving example involved an elderly woman affectionately known as ‘Granma.’ During her illness, he contributed financially to her treatment and stayed involved throughout the process. Although she eventually passed away, those who witnessed his efforts remember how consistently he showed up. 

For members of the community, these actions have been translated into trust. Teacher Blessing Amos, a teacher in Toga Sarki, where Yohanna worked in 2025, shared her experience bringing her daughter for care. From the initial visit to follow-up reminders for treatment, she observed a level of organization and attentiveness that stood out. She also noted visible improvements within the facility, cleaner spaces, more order, and better staff conduct. Even without direct interaction, she could feel the difference that leadership had made.

Colleagues describe him as a leader who does not separate himself from others. Danjuma, a staff member who worked with him at Gosa PHC, recalls how he shaped not only the work environment but also the attitudes of those around him. Through daily interactions, he taught staff how to approach patients with respect, how to communicate effectively, and how to carry out their duties with a sense of responsibility.

On a day-to-day basis, Yohanna pays close attention to how things are run in the facility. He ensures that consumables are always available, repairs are attended to promptly, and expenses are accounted for. In a country plagued with infrastructural and equipment supply deficiencies, this was a huge deal. He makes sure that available resources are used wisely so that nothing is wasted and patients can still get the care they need.

Currently serving at Kabusa Primary Healthcare Centre, he continues to build on that legacy. His leadership style is hinged on a simple premise—healthcare should be centred on people. He encourages patients to speak openly about their concerns, reminding them that their voices matter. He makes a concerted effort to care for his patients, even in the face of environmental and structural challenges.

Beyond that, he leads by example. When he was at Toga Sarki, despite commuting from Gudu every day — a one-hour commute — he was always the first to arrive at the facility. His consistency has gradually influenced other staff members, encouraging them to take punctuality and responsibility more seriously. Over time, this has helped build a stronger sense of discipline, teamwork, and readiness within the facility.

In many ways, his story demonstrates that improving healthcare does not always begin with large-scale changes. Sometimes, it starts with small, consistent actions that reshape attitudes and build confidence over time. It shows that leadership in primary healthcare is about responsibility, empathy, and presence.

At the heart of everything he does is a simple goal, to make sure that every patient who walks into the facility is listened to, treated with respect, and properly cared for. He believes that people should not feel ignored or uncomfortable when seeking help. Instead, they should leave with a sense of reassurance and trust. In many ways, this is what primary healthcare is meant to be: a place where people feel safe, valued, and confident that their health matters.

He is not, by his own insistence, extraordinary. “I am doing what every health worker should do,” he says, with the slight cadence of someone who has made this point before. “If what I do looks special, then we need to raise the standard of care,” not just recognise me. I want the people who come after me to do this better.” 

Yohanna Kusau is a 2026 PHC Champion recognised under the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency’s KNOW. TRUST. GO. Campaign.

PHC Champions are identified through community nominations and patient feedback data, validated by Ward Development Committees and facility-level evidence. PHC Champions are ordinary health workers doing extraordinary work. They are in your community. They deserve your trust and your visit.

The Policy, Advocacy and Communications for Primary Healthcare (PAC4PHC) project aims to utilize strategic communication, citizen co-creation, and advocacy to build public trust in the primary healthcare sector in Nigeria.

* Ladipo and Sambo, both developmental analysts, wrote from the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), Abuja