The Country Manager of Helpster Charity US Inc., an international nonprofit organisation based in the United States of America, Dr Perpetua Mbanefo, has decried the prevalence of limited access to healthcare in Nigeria, especially in remote communities.
She further noted that children, pregnant women and young adults in communities with high poverty index found it difficult to access medical care.
Mbanefo, who led the just concluded medical outreach in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State, stated that the nonprofit organised the outreach in furtherance of its humanitarian mission of providing healthcare access to underserved communities across Africa and Asia.
The medical outreach, which had a medical team of two doctors, nurses and laboratory specialists, engaged in health sensitisation, deworming, screening and treatment of common diseases.
“In addition to facilitating access to essential medicare for those that need it, especially children, pregnant women and young adults, through a crowdfunding technology, Helpster, through these outreaches, takes medicare to the remote communities where healthcare is critically needed.
“The turnout today was great. About 200 children and adults were screened and treated for malaria, malnutrition, skin infections, high blood pressure, diabetes, upper respiratory tract infections, and other common diseases. We sensitised them on key health topics and counselled them on living healthily.
“We thank all the volunteers who came out to support us in achieving our programme objective. We also appreciate Pastor David Moses for allowing us to use the church for the programme. It’s good to see that well-meaning individuals are joining forces with Helpster in making a difference in the lives of the residents of poor communities,” Mbanefo said.
A parent, whose child was a beneficiary of the programme, Mrs Beatrice Nwaka, stated that the community was in dire need of healthcare services.
She thanked Helpster for organising the outreach and called on other organisations to conduct more medical outreaches in the area.
One of the medical volunteers, Benjamin Ekishi, commended Helpster for the outreach, stating that he believed in the organisation’s mission that no child suffers or dies due to lack of access to medical care.
Helpster started its medical outreach programme in 2023 and has impacted over 4,000 children across Nigeria.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS
