SOME of the residents within and outside Makoko community in Lagos State came out in their numbers on Sunday to benefit from a free medical outreach organised for them.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach was organised by the Lagos Caledonian Society and Magna Carta Health in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) Lagos Branch.
Other organisations that supported the event are the Deputy High Commission of Canada and Ultimate Eye Clinic.
The outreach, which held at the NRCS complex, was aimed at providing basic and preventive healthcare services, drugs and clothings to people of the community.
The Vice Chieftain, Lagos Caledonian Society, Mrs Alana Macgillivray, said the outreach targeted at 300 people, was to provide support and giving back to the society.
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Macgillivray, who also represented the Deputy High Commission of Canada said: “The participants will have full medicals completed; eye test is done with eyeglasses provided if required.
“They will be provided medication if required, clothing, hygiene products and food,’ he said.
Also, Dr Blessing Logan, Public Health, Magna Carta, said the state of the economy had prevented a lot of people from going for medical check-ups that could help prevent diseases.
“We are providing services like blood pressure and blood sugar checks, treat ailments and give drugs, check eyes and screen for glaucoma, then book patients for surgeries,” she said.
Mr Olakunle Lasisi, Secretary, NRCS Lagos, said the society was happy to support any programme aimed at meeting the needs of the less privileged.
“We provided the facility, we have some of our health officials here; a doctor, two nurses and about 11 volunteers distributed in various sections like vital checks and dispensary.
“Our volunteers are responsible to organise everything in an orderly manner; the first person arrived around 6 a.m. today but before then, we had put a mechanism in place to take care of such situations,” he said.
Dr Iyare Imade, an Optometrist,p with Ultimate Eye Clinic, said they looked forward to more opportunities to reach out to the public with eye services.
“When we go for outreaches; we treat and also educate every patient we attend to. We tell them things that can go wrong with their eyes and how to manage it.
“There are very common things that we see, one is glaucoma. It is one of the main causes of blindness in Africa.
“We check the eye pressure and the back of the eyes. People don’t know they have glaucoma until they start losing their vision,” he told NAN.
One of the participants, Ms Nkechi Ferikwu, a teacher, said the programme was proof that people could still help people they don’t know, gain good health and proper care.
“I received adequate medications for malaria treatment. I also received eyeglasses to help me read better,” she said.
Another participant, Mr Austin Umude, said he was happy to get a clean bill after the glaucoma screening.
“I checked my blood pressure, my blood sugar and eyes; I was tested for glaucoma and they said I’m fine. I also got drugs and other eyeglasses,” he said.
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