No fewer than 380 residents of Rivers State have benefited from a free medical outreach organised by Pamo University Teaching Hospital as part of activities marking the 2025 convocation ceremony of Pamo University of Medical Sciences.
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The two-day outreach, provided a wide range of medical and surgical services to indigent patients. Speaking with journalists during the exercise, the Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Coordinator of Clinical Services at the hospital, Dr Akaninyene Ubom, said the programme was aimed at easing the healthcare burden on vulnerable Nigerians.
Dr Ubom explained that the initiative was conceived by the founder of the university and teaching hospital, and former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili, to make quality healthcare accessible to people who are unable to afford the high cost of medical treatment.
According to him, over 12 categories of general and paediatric surgeries were performed, including hernia repairs, breast lump excisions, eye surgeries and appendectomies, alongside diagnostic services such as CT scans, MRI and ultrasound.
He noted that Nigeria faces a dual challenge of a high disease burden and widespread poverty, which often prevents people from seeking medical care. “This hospital was established to provide world-class healthcare at an affordable cost, not for profit,” he said, adding that treatment fees had recently been reduced by 50 per cent on the directive of the founder.
Beneficiaries included men, women and children who had lived with medical conditions for years. One of them, 46-year-old widow and mother of three, Favour Mbade, who underwent free hernia surgery, expressed gratitude to the hospital after previously being told she would need over N1 million for the procedure elsewhere.
Similarly, 52-year-old Festus Egbe, who travelled from Abuja for the outreach, thanked the organisers and called on other well-meaning individuals to support similar initiatives to reach more Nigerians.
