Follow Us on Google
From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Family Care Specialist Hospital and Maternity, Narayi High Cost, Kaduna, in collaboration with Share Humanity Foundation (SFH) at the weekend, offered free basic medical services to hundreds of Nigerians to cushion the impact of current economic hardship in the country.
SHF is a Kaduna-based non-governmental organisation that focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, water and sanitation hygiene, social intervention, child abuse prevention, and climate change.
In an interview on the sideline of the medical outreach, the Medical Doctor in charge of the Hospital, Madaki David Sheyin, who doubled as the Executive Director of the Foundation said, the hospital and the foundation deem it necessary to reduce the burden of healthcare of the benefitting individuals and families.
Having been in the medical field for 12 years and still counting, Dr. Madaki said one of the things he has been passionate about is affordable healthcare to people who cannot afford it which coincidentally aligned with that of the Founder of SHF, Mr. Reuben Kabantiyok.
According to Madaki, “times are hard. Things are getting beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians. Already, there is an existing gap in the health sector that has encouraged so much quackery. So, as far as I’m concerned, cost or affordability should not be reasons people will not have quality health care. We should be able to share that humanity in us with others irrespective of their social status.
“Today, we have decided to organise the outreach to be able to attend to people and at least run some tests for them. So consultation is free for anyone who comes during this outreach.
“As I said, we run basic tests like blood levels, malaria screening, hepatitis screening, sugar screening, deworming, and blood pressure for people. Some people don’t even know their blood level which is why we have cases of people just collapsing and dying. But shortly before that, we did a health talk before we started attending to people.
Let me on behalf of the facility and the foundation encourage people to visit the hospital for these basic tests once or twice a year because that is key. Most of the irreversible health complications around us can be successfully managed if they are detected early”, he urged.
One of the beneficiaries of the gesture, Miss Jemimah Bisan, who resides at Narayi High-Cost Estate, described the free medical opportunity as “a rare privilege” in the face of the current harsh economy in the country.
“So, when I saw the opportunity, I quickly grabbed it. I have also called my family members and my mummy and sister are already here. We thank the organisers for coming to our aid at this crucial time.
“I will like to call on other organisations to come up with initiatives like this to reach out to those who are in need in Kaduna and other parts of the country.
“I know there are also people who want to give to people but possibly they don’t know how to go about it. One of the ways to go about it is to get across the organisations that are doing it like those that organised this free medical outreach.
“Government also needs to increase workers’ salary to enable these category of Nigerians access to basic necessity of life like feeding, health, education and shelter.
“But, if that is not possible now, can they do something to bring down the prices things so the little money we have can have purchasing power? She inquired.
