By Ejiofor Toochi Cynthia
About 40% of Nigerians, according to a study by Lancet, live in poverty, in social conditions that promote ill health, due to high out-of-pocket health costs. Due to the high cost of healthcare in the nation, many people in poverty are unable to afford the luxury of competent medical care, which frequently results in death. In light of this, Ikejabird organized a free medical outreach for market traders in Maryland’s Onigbongbo market in collaboration with two health agencies (Careful Clinical Diagnosis Limited and Medix Pharmacy). The medical outreach was sponsored by Adufee27, Fix-it-Pro, BlackMask bitters, Freefly Travels Management, Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours.
More than fifty traders attended the medical screening exercise. As they waited for their turn, one could see the eagerness on their faces. Even the Iya loja and members of the market council were present. They received free blood tests and had their blood pressure checked since, as is frequently remarked, “BP is a time bomb that can blow at any time.”
Dr. Leonard Aniakor, the CEO of Careful Clinical Diagnostics International, whose team led the test, addressed the traders and said, “health is wealth and if you don’t protect your health, no one else can. When you’re opportune to have free medical outreach, you shouldn’t miss it. Also, be conscious of what you eat, the way you behave in the market so that you’ll not be infected by another person.” He briefed them on the significance of maintaining good health and advised them to be conscious of their health.
While the test was ongoing, a representative of Medix Pharmacy, Pharm. Opeyemi Salami also took the liberty to enlighten the traders on the proper use of antibiotics and other prescriptions. “It isn’t good enough to be using antibiotics every time. Also, one shouldn’t use another person’s drugs, instead visit a health practitioner/pharmacy.” Additionally, he emphasized the significance of market leaders in such events, saying that, “they should encourage traders to participate and be present as well, cause it will help traders to be very sure of what they’re doing and show that the organizers are authentic.” At the end, he distributed some drugs to traders in need.
Dr. Aniakor, in an interview with IkejaBird reporter underlined the significance of the outreach in a market. “This is a place where people come from different works of life, to buy and sell, so they mingle and come in contact with one another. So, it’s easier to transmit infections. This is the best place to bring health services to people and inform them on how to live a better life.” Finally, he expressed his gratitude to Ikejabird for organizing the outreach since, in his words, They have the lives of people at heart.” The fact that the outreach was made to those who couldn’t afford medical care made him happy.
Blessing, a trader at the market, showed gratitude at this initiative, “They came into the market to reach us because for us to come out is difficult. Taking our blood will show how healthy we are, and after we see the results, we can treat ourselves rightly.” The outreach was successful in that many traders were informed of the proactive steps they should be doing to maintain their health.
Chief Mrs. Elizabeth Ojo, the Olopa Oja (Market Police) in Onigbongbo market, thanked the IkejaBird media staff for organising the medical outreach, as well as the sponsors for volunteering to make the outreach a success and making it free for traders to participate. According to her, the market traders are so focused on making money that they neglect their health. And they were really grateful for what IkejaBird has done for them.
Afterwhich IkejaBird team expressed gratitude to the sponsors, Careful Clinical Diagnosis Limited, Medix Pharmacy, Adufee27, Fix-it-Pro, BlackMask bitters, Freefly Travels Management, Al-Hatyq Travels and Tours for their financial support and humanitarian services.
That’s very lovely.
This is indeed a thoughtful thing to do.
This is really nice and thoughtful.
Health is indeed wealth.
This is very nice
Giving back to the community… there’s nothing better than that👏🏿
Awwwwwww this is so nice…. very considerate. I love when people do this. Shows there’s still hope
This so beautiful ❤️
Keep it up.