Aperin-Oniyere residents get free medical care from Rotary Club

AS part of its community service, Rotary Club of Ibadan Jericho Metro has provided free medical care to residents of Aperin Oniyere, Adesola, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

The one-day medical outreach, in collaboration with United States Medical Missions and other partners from Naykash Healthcare, Connect DCare Inc, Hope For All Inc, GHL Foundation, Ken and Sara George, Huston Texas, saw the beneficiaries being screened and treated for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, skin infections, worm treat- ment, cervical cancer screening, among others.

The new president of the club, Mr Damilola Olaleye, said the essence of the programme was to meet the needs of the underprivileged, adding that the club chose Aperin-Oniyere community based on its needs assessment.

Olaleye also revealed that the club had been running the programme for years, saying this year’s edition focused on cervical screening, breast cancer, hypertension, arthritis and dental services for about 500 people.
He urged government at all levels to partner with Rotary Club for effective implementation and delivery of social services to people at the grassroots.

“If the government can partner with Rotary Club, it will go a long way in covering a long mile and we will all see that our society will be free from mental ailments that can be easily be taken care of before it gets worse.”

In his remarks, the team lead of the US Medical Mission, Dr Musibau Kasumu, called for early prevention of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria, particularly hypertension.

Kasumu expressed concern with the fact that Nigerians do not take advantage of the primary healthcare centres to monitor their blood pressure.

Kasumu who is from University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., tasked government at all levels to make health insurance accessible and affordable so that many people could take advantage of medical services being provided.

“The biggest thing is prevention, and it is better than medicine. So, most people have not been making use of the primary health centres to check their blood pressure on a regular basis,” he said.

One of the representatives of the beneficiaries, Mr Sunmonu Oyelere lauded the club for the gesture.