First Lady, Ajose Foundation, Others Offer Free Medical Treatments to Ogun Indigenes

Sunday Okobi

Over 120 indigent patients in dire need of health services across communities in Ogun State have received various kinds of medical treatments, including surgeries, through a medical mission initiated by a team of medical doctors from the United States in collaboration with Ajose Foundation and the Office of the Ogun State First Lady.

The state First Lady, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, during the inspection of the medical operations at the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, Sagamu recently told journalists that the programme was committed to extending medical services to people who could not afford to pay for their medical interventions, adding that thousands of patients had medical check-ups and were given free drugs and supplements.

She said: “We have been partnering Naykas Health Care Inc., United States, which came with over 20 doctors.”

Mrs. Abiodun commended the organisers and sponsors for giving back to society, urging the people to pay greater attention to their health at all times.

Also at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, said the initiative augmented the efforts of the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, in the health sector, adding that the doctors from the US on medical mission availed the state their expertise and finances to give back to the society by providing quality health care service.

According to her, “Since the governor took over the state administration in 2019, a large sum of money has been expended into upgrading of the modular theatre to make it fit for this purpose. The theatre where this operation is being carried out has been refurbished and equipped with modern facilities.

“The ICU has also been refurbished, as well as the accidental emergency, which was also renovated.”

Coker stated that the present administration had invested a lot of money in the health centres by renovating two health centres in each of the local government areas in the state and introducing the Ogun State Health Insurance Scheme to enable the citizens to access affordable health care services.

In her remark, the Chief Medical Director of Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, Dr. Oluwabunmi Fatungase, disclosed that the expatriates from Philadelphia, USA, were general surgeons, anesthetist nurses, and physician anesthetists, who she claimed had collaborated with the state health team to provide surgical interventions and technological idea sharing through teaching sessions and surgical protocol sessions.

The Team Lead of Naykas Health Care Inc., USA, Dr. Kasumu Musbau, who lauded the success of the medical mission, said the programme was tailored towards giving back to society by providing intra-abdominal surgery and treatments for relational pancreas, liver, breast swelling and thyroid for retired, widow, disabled, and those who needed assistance in paying their bills.

One of the beneficiaries of the medical outreach, Mr. Olarenwaju Popoola, who couldn’t afford N350,000 for his hernia medical bill, appreciated organisers of the medical mission, particularly the Office of the first lady, for bringing the programme at a time when all hope was lost for him.