A non-governmental organisation, Orunsii Welcare Foundation, has urged well-meaning Nigerians to collaborate with it in supporting pediatric patients, saying there are many vulnerable families struggling to afford the cost of medical care.

The NGO said this during an outreach organised in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady of Lagos State to support pediatric surgeries at the General Hospital Marina, Femi Gbajabiamila General Hospital and the Alimosho General Hospital.

Project Director of Orunsii Welcare Foundation, Dr Laja Odunuga, however, said to lessen the financial burden on some vulnerable patients, the organisation had donated seed money to cater to their surgical care.

Speaking to newsmen during the outreach, Odunuga said the foundation chose pediatric surgery because children were generally vulnerable and reliant on their parents or guardians to make decisions for them.

He said: “They (children) are vulnerable because they are not able to fend for themselves. And because they are not able to fend for themselves, they depend on the decisions of their parents who might have other things competing for their interests. We found children to be very vulnerable and we feel that this project will be beneficial to them.

“What we have done is actually to donate seed money to some selected general hospitals across the senatorial districts in Lagos. The expectation is that the seed money would actually be beneficial to those patients who need surgical care but are not able to afford it.”

On her part, First Lady of Lagos State, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, said such act of compassion shown by the foundation was a reminder that healing was not just from medicine, but from presence, partnership and empathy.

Sanwo-Olu said: “As we are aware, the inability to afford surgical cost has denied many the opportunity to live fulfilling lives. However, through today’s intervention, we are putting smiles on the faces of both our elders and our young ones.

“The Orunsii Welcare Foundation has set a commendable precedent for other NGOs and corporate organisations. I therefore encourage stakeholders, corporate bodies, faith-based organisations, and civil society groups to join hands with impactful initiatives like this. Together, we can build a Lagos where no child is left behind due to financial or medical constraints.”