The Impact of Road On Accessibility to Health Facilities in Etsako West Local Government Area, Edo State

This paper examines the impact of accessibility to health facilities in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo state. The study objectives are: taking inventory of health facilities in the area, examining the existing road transport facilities, evaluating the effect of road access on health facilities, and analyzing the impact of road access on accessibility to health facilities in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. 485 questionnaires were administered in the 12 wards in the study area. Scheduled interviews were held with the management of the teaching hospital in Auchi. A systematic random sampling method was used in the administration of the questionnaire. The study showed that the condition of the roads is poor. This had an impact on the accessibility of roads to health facilities. This condition has led to poor access to health facilities, high costs of accessing health facilities, longer time spent accessing health facilities, lack of interest in using health facilities, and an increase in poor health conditions in the study area. It is recommended that the settlements in the study area should be interconnected for efficiency and effective movement to reduce costs and time of movement to access these health facilities.