From JOE EFFIONG, UYO
Not fewer than a thousand residents of Uyo on Thursday assembled at the Aka Offot Health Centre, Uyo, to benefit from the free medical programme sponsored by the National Association of Seadogs (NAS).
NAS Medical Mission which was part of activities of the 47th Konverge or their AGM held in Uyo, is however a regular interventionist outreach programmes of the body which had earlier taken place in different communities in the state.
NAS Capoon, Abiola Owoaje confirmed this that the Free Medical Programme was not unusual as the organization has been doing it regularly in different communities, particularly when they have other activities in such areas
“For example we are doing our annual general meeting in Akwa Ibom this week. So we don’t just come and then just go. We try as much as possible to make impact wherever we are going particularly when we see that the community needs support.
“That’s why, even when we were coming here to see, particularly the medical requirement of the community, we realized that there was a need to help rehabilitate a borehole as well. That is why members came to fix that,
“I have listened to the speech there (by the community) and I have taken note of needs because we are also trying to ensure that the need requirements that we look into are matched with what we can deliver to the community. We try and see which of them we can look into and then assist.
“it is not going to be the end because we always go back to such community that we have provided support to see how the support we had provided is making an impact.
“We understand that the government cannot do everything because there are still many other things requiring seed funding. That’s where organizations like ours try to step in.
Capoon Owoaje, while inaugurating the borehole rehabilitated by the Akwa Ibom State branch of NAS at the centre, said their interventionist programmes are also a way of advocacy, because some of the health challenges observed during the exercise would give the organization an indication of the dominant medical problems of the community, which would be communicated to government to tackle as well.
While promising that the NAS, within the limit of its capacity, would continue to give back to the community, Owoaje thanked the Aka Offot community for welcoming them and providing an environment conducive to the exercise.
He promised to look into the issue of electricity, through the provision of a generating set as an interim measure pending when electricity would be restored at the centre.
The Chairman of the Ward Development Committee of the area, Otuekong Imeh Udosen, expressed appreciation of the people in the ward to NAS for the free medical outreach, saying the exercise had restored hope of the medical centre, especially with the rehabilitated borehole.
Udosen however listed some of the pressing challenges of the health centre to include lack of electricity or generating set to pump water from the borehole, surveying and fencing round the premises to stem encroachment, and absence of staff quarters.
“Sir, the above listed infrastructures become imperative as the environment is not conducive. Therefore, the surveying and fencing round the facility will stop people and village farmers passing through the centre and police encroachment. Moreover, it will make the health centre secured for the council to equip her with necessary equipment for work efficiency.” Udosen said.
The nurse in charge of the center, Florence Udoudo, equally thanked the NAS team for the exercise even as she asked them not forget the centre in the future medical outreaches.
Dr Emeka Ikwu, one of the NAS doctors attending to people, said the dominant sicknesses diagnosed were hypertension and eye refractive errors.
He attributed the eye problems to age since they are common among people above 40 years; but he lamented that a majority those with hypertensive cases did not even know about it.
Dr Ikwu said there were enough drugs and glasses to give to those whose cases could be treated on the counter; but that the body refers those with more complicated cased to appropriate quartres.
Some of the patients expressed appreciation to NAS and asked government at various levels and other philanthropic organisations to emulate NAS in trying to solve the problems of the poor masses.
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