The National Action
Committee on Aids (NACA), in collaboration with the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) has commenced a four-day medical outreach in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta.
The medical outreach, organised under the recently launched President’s Comprehensive Response Plan (PCRP) on Wednesday at Oleh, the council’s headquarters, was to enable the people to ascertain their health statuses.
Speaking during the programme, the NACA Team Leader, Dr Gideon Okorie, said the outreach would enable clients to be diagnosed for HIV, hypertension, diabetes and other diseases and be given free drugs.
Okorie said that the outreach, which was targeted at 3,000 beneficiaries, would also refer cases that were beyond management to relevant hospitals.
He added that “this programme is aimed at helping clients to know their health statuses through free medical tests, counselling and drugs.
“We have doctors and other health personnel here to carry out these functions and we are calling on the people to take advantage of the outreach.’’
The leader said that at the end of the exercise, the team would study the diagnoses to determine the prevalence of the diseases, adding that it would help in planning for future healthcare for the area.
He then commended the local government for supporting the programme, saying the turnout was encouraging.
The Chairman of the local government, Mr Itiako Ikpokpo, who declared the programme open, commended the Federal Government for embarking on the free outreach.
Ikpokpo said it was a clear demonstration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s high priority to quality healthcare to the citizenry.
He said that the council would ensure that people came out en mass to benefit from the programme as it progressed.
Our correspondent reports that more than 250 persons had undergone tests and got drugs within the first two hours of the commencement of the programme.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Favour Omoyibo, said she was diagnosed as having high blood sugar level and had been given drugs.
She said “I thank God that I came out, maybe, I would not have known this until it becomes critical.’
