Jennifer Etuh Foundation (JEF) has commenced a five-day free medical outreach in Kaura local government area of Kaduna State, targeting 3,000 residents with free medical services.
The outreach, which started yesterday and will end on Friday, is being held at the Jennifer Etuh Specialist Hospital in Mallagum-Kagoro, where residents and people from neighbouring communities are receiving free medical consultations, laboratory tests, medications, eye care, dental services, and surgical procedures.
During the outreach, the programme officer of the foundation, Christiana Kuntin Afolayan, said more than 100 medical volunteers were participating in the exercise.
She said the volunteers were providing services across various departments, including dental care, eye care and surgery, general surgery, laboratory services and health promotion.
According to her, surgical procedures available during the outreach include hernia, fibroid and goitre surgeries, all provided free of charge.
“Everything is free in all our outreaches, from consultation to surgery and medications,” she said.
Afolayan said more than 600 people were attended to on the first day after over 1,000 people turned up, adding that the number had to be managed to avoid overwhelming the medical team.
She said some residents travelled from outside the Kaura local government area to access the free services after hearing about the outreach.
The Programme Officer said the exercise also included health promotion activities such as the distribution of mosquito nets, infant food supplements, soap and sanitary pads, as well as sensitisation of young girls on menstrual hygiene.
She added that people with disabilities were also being catered for, noting that some beneficiaries travelled from Jos, Kogi, and other locations to participate in the programme.
Meanwhile, a volunteer with Pro-Health International and coordinator overseeing the doctors during the outreach, Dr Joy Audu, said the medical team had recorded cases of hypertension, diabetes, peptic ulcer disease, infections and surgical conditions.
She said some patients were found with very high blood pressure, including readings as high as 230/100, adding that some of those affected were relatively young.
Dr Audu said the team had also encountered patients who unqualified persons had advised to discontinue prescribed medications or replace them with herbal remedies.
