By Leonard Okachie
The Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha Foundation has formally launched the 17th edition of its free medical outreach with 720 patients targetted to benefit.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the foundation was set up by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, to intervene in some critical issues affecting her community and beyond.
Addressing newsmen at the venue of the event in Amuda-Isuochi, Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia, on Friday, she described the outreach as one of her covenant relationships with Jesus Christ, while in public office.
She said that touching lives through the outreach “is the kind of thing that makes me happy and fulfilled”.
The minister said that the exercise was her own way of giving back to her community.
She also said that the outreach had been successfully undertaken by the foundation without asking for support from any body or group.
“It’s difficult for me to ask people for support because I believe this is what I need to do.
“And, if God has blessed me, it is not just for me to be comfortable; I believe He is blessing me to be able to give back to Him by touching lives.
“This thing is not about who I know or the position I occupy.
“I have never put this (funding) in any government appropriation, I do it from my savings,” the minister said.
She said that she decided to embark on the programme for the people because she did not see how they could live well, if their health was not good enough.
Onyejeocha, who decried the high mortality rate among women and under-aged, said that most people do not bother to do routine health check “because they believe God will take care of them.”
She called on State Governments to prioritise agriculture, health and security of lives and property of their people.
“If we leave health the way it is going, we will have citizens with bad health and unhealthy society, which is worse than poverty,” she said.
The Medical Team Lead, Dr Humble Evuchaiwe, told newsmen that at least 600 medical and 120 surgical patients were being targetted during the four-day exercise that commenced on Wednesday.
Evuchaiwe, a Senior Resident Doctor (Anaesthetic) at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, said the team included five medical officers, four surgeons, two ophthalmologists, three anaesthesiologists, two pharmacists, a laboratory scientist and 12 nurses.
He said that the prevalent medical cases among the people were hypertension, diabetes, typhoid, hernia, eye ailment (cataract and pterygium), amongst others.
Speaking in an interview with NAN, some of the patients expressed gratitude to Onyejeocha for bringing health care closer to them.
“I feel very happy and I thank God for giving us Onyejeocha, because for 10 years, I have had eye problem and now the surgery has been done at no cost to me,” Mr Godwin Ndu said.
NAN reports that while some of the patients went through surgery, others received medicated eyeglasses and medication during the outreach. (NAN)
