By Tayo Joseph Lagos
A community-based organisation, Aro Bamgbose Empowerment Foundation, has provided free medical care to 1,000 indigent residents of Omu-Aran and its environs in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara.
Chief Adekunle Oyinloye, the Chairman and founder of the organisation, said this in an interview on the sidelines of the medical outreach carried out in the community.
He urged Nigerians to access medical services provided by philanthropic organisations, saying his initiative was a way of “ giving back to society.’’
“I got to know that many sick people, as a result of financial incapability have turned away from hospitals.
“Many of them have become bedridden and lost hope even over an ailment that cannot cost more than N1,000 to treat and manage.
“So, it is our hope that if we can bear their medical needs to some extent, they can then channel their resources to other things such as education and welfare of their wards,” he said.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of the foundation, Dr Musa Bello, said the 2017 edition of the medical outreach was the fifth since its inception in 2013.
“It was strategically programmed to coincide with Sallah, Christmas and New Year periods to achieve wider participation of patients and has been on five years now,” he said.
The coordinator said the programme’s beneficiaries came from Omu-Aran, Ajase-Ipo, Oko, Oke-Onigbin, Oro, Ipetu and Aran-Orin communities among others.
“ Apart from free diagnosis, treatment and provision of drugs, beneficiaries were also offered basic tips and rudiments on fire safety and prevention.
“Beneficiaries also received detailed counselling on Lassa Fever and similar diseases in order to check unwarranted infections,” he added.
Bello said diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, hypertension, arthritis and diabetes were common among the beneficiaries.
He explained that the programme’s target population included the people at the grassroots, especially the less privileged.
The initiative, he added, was designed to complement government’s efforts at improving the health status of the people.
Bello also said the foundation would produce comprehensive documentation and analysis of its medical findings over the years for the purpose of improving nation’s healthcare delivery.
“It is our hope that this documentation will in no small measure assist the government and other relevant health institutions to plan ahead.
“Through the programme, we are able to discover that malaria, arthritis and hypertension are more prevalent among the people.
“Many of the people, especially those in remote villages and communities, are ignorant of their health conditions.
“This is why the foundation organised this programme as part of its support to ensure unhindered access to improved healthcare delivery to the people at the grassroots,” he said.
