HAF offers free medical outreach to Ibeju residents in Lagos

 

The Heritage Advancement Forum (HAF), a Non-governmental Organisation, has offered free medical services to no fewer than 600 indigent people of Eputu Community in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.

The forum also enlightened the community on some health conditions, the right use of medications, how to take care of their health, as well as personal hygiene to prevent transmittable diseases.

Mr Anegbode Odion, the President of HAF, said during the programme on Saturday in Lagos, that the free medical service was targeted at ensuring that people in the rural communities got healthy lifestyle and take precautionary measures on their well-being.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach had the theme: Health Is A Human Right”.

Odion said that Eputu community Ibeju was chosen for the outreach because most residents of the area were vulnerable and could not cater for their medical needs, adding that healthcare services were not readily available within the area.

He explained that no fewer  than 600 adults and children benefited from the medical outreach including screenings for blood sugar, blood pressure, diabetes, malaria tests and treatment, eye test, scaling, teeth polishing and general body checkup.

“The organisation’s core mandate is to improve the well-being of indigent citizens across the country; meaning that the gesture is not limited to Lagos State alone but cuts across other states of the Federation.

“The aim is to bring healthcare services closer to the communities at no cost at all because access to medical care is a big challenge in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas.

“A lot of people with one underlying ailment or the other are dying in silence because they can’t afford the exorbitant hospital bills.

“The organisation is committed to serving the community, by ensuring that life become more meaningful to the indigent citizens,” he said.

Speaking, the Secretary of HAF, Mr Chirisdor Ovuru, said the medical outreach was to sensitise the people on health challenges and how to avoid some bad practices.

Ovuru said that the people were screened and given free drugs such as antihypertensives, antidiabetic, pain reliefs, among others.

He further said that others who needed urgent medical attention were referred to medical facilities, saying that a patient with critical health condition was immediately taken to a nearby hospital and was currently receiving treatment.

“I am really impressed with the turnout of the people for the medical outreach because it actually surpassed our target of 600 beneficiaries.

“It is an indication that most people in the community actually needed the healthcare,” he said.

A consulting doctor at the outreach, Dr Gerald Chinasa, emphasised the need for increased health education campaigns at the rural communities to sensitise citizens on the need for medical check-up.

Chinasa, also a General Physician Consultant, said there was also need to raise awareness on some chronic health conditions such as hypertension and blood sugar.

According to him, most people at the community areas have the conditions without knowing.

“From the consultations here, I noticed that a lot of people have life-threatening pathologies and health conditions that they are not even aware of. And this is quite worrisome.

“There are some patients that are moving around with what we called ‘time-bomb’ – that if the person before trekking to the gate slump and die, one may not be worried.

“So, there’s need to educate people on the possible consequences of the life-threatening pathologies like hypertension and blood sugar and the need to regularly check them.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t cost much to do the medical check and most community pharmacies are now checking hypertension and blood sugar level,” Chinasa told NAN.

Mr Friday Agboo, a beneficiary of wheelchair at the outreach, expressed his gratitude to the forum for the gesture and an opportunity to access free medical services.

Agboo said that he had poliomyelitis since childhood and  that made him to be in need of the wheelchair  particularly now he was advanced in age.

He, therefore, called on the forum and other NGOs alike to go further into the rural communities as there were other vulnerable citizens who needed such gesture.

The CDA Chairman of Ibeju Lekki, Mr Gundayo Olowopego  commended the forum for the initiative to invest their time and resources in helping the less privileged.

Olowopego said the gesture would go a long way to improve the health of the beneficiaries who could not afford basic healthcare services due to financial constraints amidst the economic pressure.

According to him, access to healthcare services has been a big challenge in the community as there is no any existing health centre or hospital in the community.

He explained that residents would have to transport to the next village in order to access health care.

He, therefore, encouraged the community to take advantage of the free healthcare services as well as other subsequent medical outreaches.

The outreach featured donation of a wheelchair to a patient.