The Edo State Government in partnership with the Association of Nigeria Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), have launched a free medical outreach to offer treatment including heart, kidney, eye surgeries for over 4,000 Edo residents.
Performing the flag off ceremony on Sunday, the First Lady of the State, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, said the free medical care exercise is a way to give back to society for their support to the state government and ensuring the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki during the September 19, 2020 governorship poll.
She said, “The motivation for this medical mission is the support received from Edo people during the governorship election, supporting the governor against all odds and ensuring he gets a second term in office. No better way to say thank you than by providing free medical care for the people.
“The governor set aside millions of naira monthly to settle and offset medical bills of the indigent people in the state. The governor set up the Mercy Committee for those with serious medical needs. This medical mission will address lots of the issues from the Mercy Committee.”
Mrs. Obaseki said the list of indigent patients requiring medical care has all been captured for the free medical mission, noting that some of the services that the people will enjoy include cardiology, nephrology, ophthalmology and dental surgery, among others.
On her part, the Edo State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Obehi Akoria said 4,000 people have been screened for the medical mission, noting that 600 persons require surgical intervention while 300 are ready for surgeries.
She noted that 65 highly qualified specialists are already in the state to team up with 200 volunteers including clinical and none clinical volunteers.
Akoria added, “13 different theaters will host the surgical needs of patients in this medical mission as specialists from various fields in medicine are on ground to attend to these cases.”
President of the Association of Nigeria Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) Dr. Christopher Okunseri commended Betsy Obaseki for the initiative, expressing the readiness of his association to deliver quality healthcare services to Edo people.
He said, “Our collaboration is to build capacity and also skill transfer. For the first time in our over 27 years of existence, we will be embarking on telemedicine which was brought about as COVID-19 ravaged the world.”
