Declining Trust in Hospital-based Care Worrisome, Says NGO

Omolabake Fasogbon

A non-governmental organisation, Sustainable Development Goals for Her Initiative (SDGforHer), has decried the apathy for conventional healthcare in underserved communities, highlighting the urgency to intensify sensitisation in this regard.

It noted this as being detrimental to the Nigeria’s health care profile as well as heightens mortality risks in the country.

During a health drive for women in Makoko community in Lagos, Founder of the organisation, Hannah Ayilaran-Omon, observed a trend of distrust for orthodox care among over 200 women reached during the exercise, worrying that the situation was almost the same in rural communities.

She cited inherent dangers of this mindset to have fuelled wrong and late treatment of ailments, as she reiterated organisation’s objectives to safeguard women and children’s health, while preventing avoidable deaths.

The founder explained that the outreach  held in partnership with Total Health Trust and Alternative Bank’s Food Bank project sought to enrich physical health of women who are mostly victims of marginalisation.

She said: “This exercise aligns with our goals of driving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that pertain to women, including gender equality and good health. 

For eight months consecutively, we have taken our outreach programme to different communities across the country, addressing specific challenges of over 1,500 females of different age groups. We are championing health drive in Makoko today because of our understanding of the women’s challenges in accessing maternal and antenatal services.”

The Head of Corporate Social Investment at Alternative Bank, Solomon Okonkwo, explained that partnering SDGforHer would  amplify and  drive SDGs achievement as per the company’s vision.

According to her, “We believe that achieving one SDG goal is a stepping stone to realising others. By our alliance with the initiative, we hope to reach women in vulnerable communities with all-round empowerment, including good health and financial independence.”

Representing Total Health Trust, Dr. Eyitayo Abejide addressed the locals to prioritise insurance coverage to enable them have proper health planning and access quality medical intervention at affordable cost.

Beneficiaries of the outreach enjoyed one-on-one consultation with doctor, general health talk and medical checks including BMI, blood sugar, blood pressure monitoring and antenatal counselling.