Viral Image of Patient in Vehicle Not from Nigeria

Claim: Social media users shared a photo of a patient on a drip in the back of an open vehicle, saying it showed Nigeria’s failing healthcare system.

Verdict: Misleading! The image actually shows a patient being transported 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. Many people are worried about poor facilities, lack of staff, and weak emergency responses, among other issues.

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

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

The user wrote alongside the photo, “When we talk about systemic failures, this is what we mean.” By 29 May 2026, the post had over two million views, 10,000 reposts, and 400 comments.

In the comments, many users linked the image to Nigeria's healthcare issues. One 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, 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 shared on Reddit on 23 May by a user with a Nigerian profile image. The user captioned it: “This is not normal. Election is around the corner, do the needful.”

The Reddit post got over 400 reactions and 84 comments echoing similar thoughts about Nigeria. The claim also popped up on Facebook, here and here.

Given how widely the image spread, PREMIUM TIMES decided to check the facts.

Verification

We did a reverse image search and found an earlier version posted by @SIKAOFFICIAL1, a blogger from Ghana. They uploaded the image on 20 May 2026, crediting 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.”

We found Mr Awudu's account on Facebook and Instagram.

When we contacted him on Facebook, Mr Awudu confirmed the photos were real. 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 in the image as Ruth and noted that she shared the photo first.

We then searched for Ruth and the health facility. This led us to Ruth's Facebook page. Ruth Amponah shared the image first on 19 May 2026.

In her post, she explained that the facility did not have an ambulance. Health workers had to transport patients in 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 also contacted @__Sharyf, whose tweet helped the image go viral in Nigeria. He confirmed, “It happened in Ghana.”

We checked Google Maps and found a health facility named FAME Clinic, Tobali Tatindo, in Tatale, Ghana, which supports the location mentioned in the original posts.

Conclusion

PREMIUM TIMES found that the image was taken in Ghana, not Nigeria. The claim is misleading.