About 1,000 riverine residents of Obe-nla in Ilaje LGA of Ondo State on Saturday benefitted from the third edition of Amalgamation of Ilaje Ugbo Coastal Community Association (AMAICOMMA) free medical outreach.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach targeted at children, men and women was bankrolled by the NNPC/Chevron Joint Ventures under the Offshore Memorandum of Understanding (OMoU).
It was also facilitated by Women’s Right Advancement and Protection Alternatives (WRAPA).
Mrs Edna Eyiwunmi-Ohunayo, Coordinator of the medical team, told NAN that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and others healthcare workers were deployed for the outreach.
She said that the riverine residents were diagonised of various health challenges including malaria, typhoid fever, hypertension, diabetes, anthratis, skin diseases, headache and body pains.
“Medical experts in various fields were deployed, and residents trooped out and cooperated with medical experts all through consultations.
“Several cases were diagonised and appropriate drugs given, but bigger cases were referred to the General Hospital, Igbokoda,” she said.
Mr Alex Ikuesan, Vice-Chairman of AMAICOMMA, said that difficulty in accessing general hospitals by some riverine residents informed the decision to bring the outreach to them.
He thanked the residents for coming out en masse and thanked NNPC/Chevron for bankrolling the programme with drugs worth millions of Naira.
“Our people are happy because they had access to medical care through the outreach, I thank them for trooping out and cooperating.
“NNPC and Chevron have done well by priotising the health of the oil-rich community,” Ikuesan said.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Daisi Ogbaro, who spoke on behalf of the residents, lauded the outreach, saying that it was of immense benefits to the riverine community.
“We thank the medical team for its conscious efforts on our people.
“I thank the AMAICOMMA for fastracking this programme. I also thank the oil giants, NNPC/Chevron for sponsoring the medical outreach,” Ogbaro said.
NAN reports that AMAICOMMA is a community-based association that interfaces between oil giant, Chevron Nig. Ltd., and oil communities under the OMoU. (NAN)