In late June, reporter Linus Unah and photographer/videographer Andrew Esiebo undertook an assignment for Devex in Lagos, Nigeria. The movement challenges posed by COVID-19 made it impossible to send a Devex reporter to Nigeria, so we pivoted to working with a freelance, in-country multimedia reporting team for this visual story project. Linus reflects on the experience.
I loathe the sight of blood.
So when I was contacted to take on this assignment to document the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system as well as the impact Smile Train’s regular training is having on local surgeons and other health care workers, I hoped there wouldn’t be any blood involved.
When it became clear that the reporting assignment required watching a surgical operation and interviewing a doctor who was part of the COVID-19 team at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, I was a bit anxious.
It was a scary time to be around a health facility, not to mention a big facility like LUTH that caters for COVID-19 patients.
Initially I was worried whenever we walked past the ward where COVID-19 patients were being treated. I didn’t want to put my family and friends in danger so I adhered to all safety measures and put on whatever clothing or covering the medical staff provided for us. I think it helped that I was working with Andrew Esiebo, a videographer whose calmness rubbed off on me.
It rained sporadically in the last week of June when we started reporting. This slowed our movement and later forced us to conduct one of our interviews with a cleft trainer and surgeon in a cramped room just to avoid the din from rainwater hitting the corrugated roofing, interfering with our filming and ruining our audio recording.
I looked forward to interviewing the doctor who was part of the COVID team. When it was time to meet him, Andrew and I looked different, almost like surgeons. On the day of the surgery, when we arrived at the operating theatre and changed into surgical clothing, I was somewhat nervous and anxious during the operation for Mirabel, a 23-year-old baby who had a cleft palate that affected her feeding.
I watched as the anesthetists administered general anesthesia on the baby. Throughout the surgical procedure, I moved around the theatre, taking notes, asking older surgeons questions, seeking clarifications and keeping an eye out for extra details to make the story interesting.
It took about two hours and everything was done. When the baby woke up and started crying, I was relieved and happy.
I saw firsthand the value of training and equipment. Throughout our reporting, I was not sure which mattered most. We deliberate so much over revamping health facilities and equipping them, but rarely devote similar levels of energy and time to training. I realized how training is essential to cultivating confidence and deftness in local doctors. We need facilities but also training to tackle medical tourism. But we also need better working conditions to keep our doctors in the country.
Read “Practice makes perfect — training the next generation of Nigeria’s health workers” by Linus Unah.
Visit the Duty of Care series on supporting frontline health workers: http://dutyofcare.devex.com
