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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Clem Agba Foundation (TCAF) has organised a one-day Medical outreach in the university town of Ekpoma and the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) in Edo state to sensitize and enlighten the people about hepatitis.
The programme which targeted not fewer than 1000 people, is part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Hepatitis Day with the theme: “One life, One liver”.
Spokesman of the Foundation, Dr Ephraim Ogbaini-Emovon, who is also a clinical virologist and microbiologist, said the gesture would address the lack of awareness about the ravaging effect of hepatitis in the area and the state.
“The targeted 1,000 persons who will benefit from the outreach will be sensitized and enlightened about hepatitis, screened for hepatitis B and C and subsequently vaccinated at no cost by the foundation”, he explained.
Besides, Ogbaini-Emovon disclosed that the exercise was part of the Clem Agba Foundation’s humanitarian services which has been a regular one since 2014 when the Foundation was established and has held similarly in Auchi, Igarra, Benin City, Lagos and Delta States.
In his remark, the Acting Chief Medical Director of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Prof. Reuben Efeidiyi, said the exercise was not only beneficial to staff of the hospital who are at risk of the disease by virtue of they being health workers exposed to the virus, but also for the university community where it would be difficult for the students to afford the cost of the vaccine.
On his part, the head of the volunteer team, Dr Philip Ugbodaga, disclosed that hundreds of people at both the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital and students and staff of the Edo state-owed Ambrose Alli University were successfully vaccinated during the exercise, adding that the second and third doses of the hepatitis B vaccine would also be given to them at no cost.
He announced that the programme will be extended to other areas of the state and the country in due course and advocated for a continuous sensitization and enlightenment campaign about hepatitis by the government and nonprofit organizations to check the scourge of the disease.
Some of the beneficiaries who were mostly students and staff of the teaching hospital, expressed their happiness with the medical outreach, saying that it has really provided relief to them considering the very high cost of the vaccine at the moment.
The awareness campaign was done in collaboration with a Non-Governmental Organization, Cancer Advocacy Nigeria, the department of Community Medicine and the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the ISTH and the Students Union Government of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
