Claim: Social media users shared an image of a patient receiving a drip in the back of an open vehicle as evidence of Nigeria’s “failed healthcare system.”
Verdict: Misleading! The viral image shows a patient being transported in an open vehicle during an emergency referral in Ghana, not Nigeria.
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Full Text
Nigeria’s healthcare system has long been a subject of public criticism. Popular concerns have centred on inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of personnel, and poor emergency response services, among others.
On 21 May, @__Sharyf, an X user, shared an image that many Nigerians are now circulating as evidence of the country’s failing healthcare system.
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The image (archived here) shows a patient lying in the back of an open vehicle at night, with a health worker holding up a drip.
Alongside the photo, the user wrote, “When we talk about systemic failures, this is what we mean.”
As of 29 May 2026, the post had attracted over two million views, 10,000 reposts, and 400 comments.
A review of the comment section shows several users linking the image to Nigeria’s healthcare challenges.
An X user, @dempsudd, wrote, “There are no ambulances to take you to the hospital, but there are buses to take you to Tinubu’s election campaign grounds.”
Another commenter, @Gibsonjohn001, wrote, “This is just a tip from the well of system failure in the healthcare system, especially in my country, Nigeria.”
Similarly, @oyedeji77896605 wrote: “These APC guys are stealing everything that can be stolen.”
PREMIUM TIMES also found the image posted on Reddit on 23 May by a user with a Nigerian-themed profile image, alongside the caption: “This is not normal. Election is around the corner, do the needful.”
The Reddit post attracted over 400 reactions and 84 comments repeating similar narratives about Nigeria. The claim has also appeared on Facebook, here and here.
PREMIUM TIMES conducted this fact-check given the image’s virality.
Verification
We conducted a reverse image search and traced the image to an earlier version posted by @SIKAOFFICIAL1, a Ghanaian blogger. @SIKAOFFICIAL1 posted on May 20, 2026, with the image, crediting it to “Stephen Opoku Awudu.”
The post reads, “Disturbing photos have surfaced showing health workers at the Fame Health Centre in Tatindo, a rural community in the Tatale-Sanguli District of the Northern Region, reportedly transporting a referred patient in a tricycle due to the absence of ambulance services.”
PREMIUM TIMES checked for the name and found Mr Awudu’s account on Facebook and Instagram.
When contacted on Facebook, Mr Awudu, who is also a blogger, confirmed that the photos were authentic and had been sent to him by a staff member at Fame Health Centre.
He said, “A staff of that facility sent it to me. They wanted me to add my voice to it so they could get an ambulance. But the photos are authentic.”
Mr Awudu identified the health worker holding the IV drip in the image as Ruth, noting that she shared the photo first.
We then conducted a keyword search using the health worker’s name and the facility. This led us to Ruth’s Facebook page. Ruth Amponah was the first to share the image on 19 May 2026.
In her post, Ms Amponah explained that the health facility lacked ambulance services and that health workers had to transport emergency patients in unsafe conditions.
Her post reads in part, “At FAME Health Centre Tatindo, referring clients with complications has always been a challenge. We have no ambulance.”
She added, “When patients arrive in critical condition, we are forced to transport them in open pickup trucks or tricycle beds at night, with nurses manually holding IV drips on the way.”
PREMIUM TIMES also contacted @__Sharyf, whose viral X tweet amplified the image among Nigerian users. He confirmed via direct message on X, “It happened in Ghana.”
We further checked Google Maps and found a health facility listed as FAME Clinic, Tobali Tatindo, in Tatale, Ghana, which supports the location stated in the original posts.
READ ALSO: Agency disbursed N400m to health facilities in Borno in Q1, Q2 – Official
Conclusion
Contrary to the viral narrative, PREMIUM TIMES’ findings show that the image in question was taken in Ghana, not Nigeria. The claim is, therefore, misleading.
This report was produced under the 2026 Kwame Karikari Fact-checking and OSINT Fellowship, co-hosted by DUBAWA and the Digital Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Information Disorder Analysis Centre (DAIDAC), with support from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
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