Photo of patient on drip in vehicle is from Ghana, not Nigeria

Claim: Social media users shared a photo of a patient on a drip in an open vehicle to show Nigeria’s failing healthcare system.

Verdict: Misleading! The image actually shows a patient being taken in an open vehicle during an emergency in Ghana, not Nigeria.

Full Text

Nigeria's healthcare system has faced a lot of criticism over the years. People often talk about poor infrastructure, not enough medical staff, and bad emergency services.

On 21 May, an X user named @__Sharyf shared a picture that many Nigerians are now spreading as proof of the country's healthcare issues.

The image (archived here) shows a patient lying in the back of an open vehicle at night. A health worker is holding up a drip.

Along with the photo, the user wrote, “When we talk about systemic failures, this is what we mean.”

By 29 May 2026, the post had more than two million views, 10,000 reposts, and 400 comments.

Looking through the comments, many users connected the image to Nigeria’s healthcare problems.

One user, @dempsudd, commented, “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, said, “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 found the image also posted on Reddit on 23 May. The user had a Nigerian-themed profile and wrote, “This is not normal. Election is around the corner, do the needful.”

The Reddit post got over 400 reactions and 84 comments that repeated similar stories about Nigeria. This claim also appeared on Facebook, here and here.

PREMIUM TIMES looked into this claim because the image became so popular.

Verification

We did a reverse image search and traced the photo back to an earlier version posted by @SIKAOFFICIAL1, a blogger from Ghana. @SIKAOFFICIAL1 shared the image on 20 May 2026 and credited it to “Stephen Opoku Awudu.”

The post said, “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 found Mr Awudu’s account on Facebook and Instagram.

When we contacted him on Facebook, Mr Awudu, who is also a blogger, confirmed that the photos were real. He said a staff member at Fame Health Centre sent them to him.

He explained, “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 mentioned that the health worker holding the IV drip in the picture is named Ruth. He said she shared the photo first.

We then searched for 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 said the health facility did not have ambulance services. Health workers had to move emergency patients under unsafe conditions.

She wrote, “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 reached out to @__Sharyf, who made the image go viral among Nigerian users. He confirmed through a direct message on X, “It happened in Ghana.”

We also checked Google Maps and found a health facility called FAME Clinic, Tobali Tatindo, in Tatale, Ghana. This matches the location mentioned in the original posts.

Conclusion

Contrary to the viral story, PREMIUM TIMES found that the image was taken in Ghana, not Nigeria. The claim is therefore misleading.