A patient being attended to at the fee medical outreach programme in Akamkpa…recently.
By Anietie Akpan
Poised to take health-care to the less privileged, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has flagged off its Free Medical Mission in Cross River State, targeting 3,500 rural dwellers.
The free medical outreach started on June 16 and will end on June 22.
Speaking at the venue of the outreach at the General Hospital, Akamkpa Local Government Area in Southern Senatorial district of the state, the Director NDDC on Education, Health and Social Services, Dr. George Uzonwanne said the mission was the commission’s intervention in the Niger Delta area on healthcare.
According to him, the medical mission that would run for one week would treat patients with different ailments and surgical operations would also be carried out.
“We are running a one week medical mission for the people of Cross River State senatorial zone”, he said adding, “we are looking at treating about 3,000 to 3,500 patients, but not really the number of patients but the number of data points because one patient may have about three interventions, so we are looking at between twelve to fifteen data points in terms of data we can collect”.
The NDDC Director who emphasized that the mission was purely NDDC project but facilitated by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong jnr. representing Southern Senatorial district in the senate, said, “we have a team that will be here to look after them until they are discharged and well enough to go home but there will be cases that will not be treated in this facility because this is just a secondary facility.
“We have a referral system where the consultants will refer them to the commission and those of them we can assist, we are going to have them treated in our tertiary facilities or where they can get the treatment.”
Equally speaking, Senator Ekpenyong jnr, said the choice of the rural area for the medical mission was to provide free healthcare to the poor and those that do not have the logistics to go to Calabar for medical treatment.
“My understanding on the basic human needs is good health so the first and the best you can give to anybody is sound health that is the primary need for the people of my constituency”.
He added, “This mission is over seven days, the start-up was 16th of June and it will go on until 22nd. Each day we are targeting at the very minimum 500 people and at the upside 700 people, we are looking at between 3,000 to 3,500 people by the grace of God.”
Commending NDDC and Senator Ekpenyong, HRH, Ntufam Paul Okon Ntui, the Clan Head of Akamkpa Town, said, “we appreciate the NDDC and the Senator for deeming it fit and I believe that this is the first of its kind from NDDC to bring this kind of gesture to those in the grassroots of the Southern Senatorial district. We feel happy that our people will be treated free and surgeries will be done on those that do not have money to go to big hospitals.”
The Clan Head who represented the Paramount Ruler, HRM Obol Agbor Ewa however appealed for intervention on the bad state of the General Hospital in Akamkpa.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Priscilla Onda, from Awi community, thanked the NDDC and the Senator for their kind gesture, revealing that she has been having eye problem for the past three years but with the help of the commission, she is receiving free eye surgery.
She said, “I thank NDDC and our son, Senator Ekpenyong for giving me this opportunity to go for surgery. I have been having this eye problem since the past three years, no help from anywhere”.
