Advocates for efficient, accessible healthcare system

James Ogunnaike

A House of Representatives member, representing Remo Federal Constituency of Ogun State, Hon Adewunmi Onanuga, has warned Nigerians against self-medication.

She said seeking medical attention at approved health centres and hospitals remained the surest measure in tackling health challenges.

She, therefore, called for an efficient and accessible healthcare system for Nigerians to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the country.

Onanuga, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, gave the warning during a three-day free medical outreach she facilitated for her constituents, held at the palace ground of the Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, in Sagamu.

During the outreach, no fewer than 2,000 constituents benefitted from the medical outreach held at Remo North, Ikenne and Sagamu local government areas of the Federal Constituency consecutively.

The beneficiaries were provided with free eye screening, dental check, blood pressure, free reading glasses, blood sugar level screening, out-patient consultation, medical laboratory tests, dispensing of drugs, free eye surgery and treatment for some ailments, among others.

Speaking with reporters on the essence of the event, the federal lawmaker said the medical outreach was aimed at giving adequate healthcare services to her constituents.

Onanuga explained she wanted to ensure a healthy constituency and reduce the high incidence of sudden deaths among residents due to unattended health challenges.

She said, “I’m trying to achieve a healthy constituency. There are minor health issues that our people are not paying attention to, but with medical check-up like this, where they check their vitals, their blood pressure, their cholesterol level and their blood sugar level, it can detect certain things in the offing and then they are able to address those issues so that they do not escalate to death. That is basically the objective of this medical outreach.

“From the Local Government Areas that we have been to, we have seen some people that need surgeries, like hernia, cataract and so many others. We are going to be conducting those surgeries to bring succour to the people.

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“A lot of people are walking around with clothes covering their ailments,. So, we are using this outreach to create awareness on how people can take care of their health.

“The beneficiaries will get free medical consultation from medical personnel in addition to the free drugs that we are going to be giving out. They will be given drugs that can ameliorate their condition for now, but if it is something serious, then they will be referred to a General Hospital that can take care of whatever the issue is.”

The lawmaker commended the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign of the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the state, saying it was yielding the desired results in checking the spread of the dreaded virus.

She expressed her readiness to collaborate with the state government in mitigating the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents of the state.

“In fact, at Iperu, in Ikenne Local Government Area, we went to the health centre very close to the palace and we told them that it was important for them to also sensitise the people and we saw that a lot of people were coming in.

“We felt they were coming for the medical outreach but they said they wanted to get their vaccination first and then come for the medical outreach. So, the state government has really tried in that aspect. We are not stopping as well, we are also supporting what the state government is doing and we are making waves,” Onanuga said.

Some of the beneficiaries, who fielded questions from reporters, were very excited about the free medical outreach and appealed to the lawmaker not to rest on her oars in bringing succour to the constituency.

They also appreciated some of her intervention programmes in the past, including the donation of empowerment items such as tricycles, deep freezers, sterilizers, generating sets, grinding machines, gas cookers, wall clocks, hairdryers, mattresses and standing fans to numerous constituents.

Vanguard News Nigeria