Nigeria, June 6 -- At Damare Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Girei LGA, Adamawa State, volunteer health worker Godiya Deborah Umaru was on duty alongside only one permanent staff member when several patients arrived.

They included a woman in labour and an accident victim. Outpatients crowded the waiting area, while admitted patients also required care.

"We could not attend to all of them," Ms Umaru recalled.

The experience is familiar across rural PHCs in Adamawa State, where a shortage of health workers has left facilities unable to meet growing demand for services.

Across communities in Girei LGA, health workers say they routinely perform multiple roles simultaneously, moving between antenatal care, deliveries, outpatient consultatio...