INTRODUCTION
Primary health care (PHC) was created with the purpose of making health care accessible to everyone by the year 2000 and beyond. Unfortunately, this has yet to be realized in Nigeria, and it appears that achieving it in the next decade is unachievable. The PHC strives to provide basic health services to individuals all across the world. Despite the fact that PHC facilities were built in both rural and urban areas of Nigeria with the goal of equity and accessibility, rural Nigerians are severely underserved when compared to their urban counterparts. Because nearly two-thirds of Nigerians live in rural areas (http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/index.asp), they are entitled to all aspects of PHC. All Nigerian citizens have a fundamental right to good health. While primary health care (PHC) centers are relatively uniformly distributed throughout local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria, the rural people tend to underuse the basic health services. This article examines some cross-cutting issues in PHC and proposes strategies to increase rural people’s use of health services. PHC policymakers and the LGA should bear responsibility for maintaining the current low utilisation of PHC services. Responsible health professionals may help to create a new social order based on more equality and human dignity, in which health for all, including rural communities, will no longer be a pipe dream by 2015. Capacity building and empowerment of communities through orientation, \smobilization and community organization as regards training, information sharing and continuous dialogue, could further enhance the utilization of PHC services by rural populations.
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