Health
NO fewer than 3,000 persons had benefited from free medical outreach organised under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme in Bayelsa.
The outreach was aimed at improving the well-being of people in the three senatorial districts of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries received free medical care from medical practitioners that included: surgeons and pharmacists who screened people for hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination and surgeries.
The medical outreach started at Sampou community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area on Monday.
The event also had dental care, eye tests and free eye glasses, as well as provided wheel chairs and crutches for those with disabilities.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mr Ebiwari Wariowei, told newsmen that the essence of the outreach was to provide healthcare services to the people.
He added that the programme was also organised to ensure that people in the various communities were healthy in line with the maxim, “health is wealth.”
He said, “We are undertaking minor surgeries to correct: hernia, eye problem, dental care and carried out tests on HIV/AIDS, typhoid, malaria and many others on the people.
“This is to give them primary healthcare services and we must say thank you to the governor for always prioritising the health and well-being of our people”.
While thanking Governor Douye Diri for approving funds for the health intervention programme, the SSA on SDGs said that the agency remained a key vision driver of the Prosperity Agenda of the governor.
Wariowei, who underwent dental care, eye test, also presented some wheel chairs and crutches to the physically challenged.
Similarly, he visited the theatre room to encourage patients undergoing surgery for hernia.
The Health Desk Officer at the Bayelsa SDGs Office, Dr Lily Appah, expressed delight that the people in the three senatorial districts turned out in their numbers to take advantage of the services offered by the medical team.
“We are really happy that people came out starting from the first day at Sampou and Sagbama towns and now Ogbolomabiri.
“The turnout has been massive and we can see joy palpitating on the faces of the people we have impacted.
“A lot of people have really benefitted and we are grateful to the miracle governor and the SSA on SDGs,” she said.
She thanked the medical team for carrying out their task professionally and urged the people to expect more health interventions in the coming days from the Bayelsa SDGs’ office.
A beneficiary and a retiree, Mrs Ebiotu Kwesi, from Ughelli in Delta, said that on hearing the announcement on radio, she quickly travelled back to Sampou to benefit from the free medical care.
“I’m very pleased and happy about this free-medical- care packaged by the state government and the SDGs’ office. The treatment is good and I want it to be sustained.”
The paramount ruler of Sagbama Federated Communities, Chief Magbisa Moses-Ojo, said that most health facilities in the local areas were not performing optimally.
He expressed joy that the government had brought succour through the SDGs’ intervention in health sector to the people of the state.
“The government has remembered the poor by organising this medical outreach.
“Some of us can’t go to the hospital and when we do, there are no drugs for us. And so, this is a welcome development. It is a means to rescue us, and God bless the governor,” he said. (NAN)
KN
Tags: Douye Diri Ebiotu Kwesi Ebiwari Wariowei Lily Appah Magbisa Moses-Ojo
