By Seyi Odewale
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) on Friday delivered free medical services to residents of Owo Community in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu State, reinforcing its commitment to improving access to healthcare for indigent Nigerians.
No fewer than 1,500 residents benefited from the medical outreach, which included medical consultations, blood pressure and glucose screenings, malaria testing, eye examinations, and the distribution of free medication and eyeglasses.
The intervention programme, part of the Quarter 2 Pyrates Working Council meeting held in Enugu, saw health workers treating cases of hypertension, diabetes, high blood glucose levels, malaria, and minor skin conditions.
At the same time, patients requiring advanced care were referred to specialist hospitals.
Speaking at the outreach, NAS Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Dr Patrick Briggs, said the exercise formed part of the association’s quarterly programmes aimed at reaching rural populations with limited access to basic healthcare services.
He explained that early detection of ailments was a key focus of the mission, as many beneficiaries were unaware they had underlying health conditions.
Briggs noted that beneficiaries diagnosed during the exercise were educated on lifestyle management and provided with starter medications, stressing that timely intervention could help prevent complications and save lives.
“We are here today because this is part of our quarterly meetings. We meet in various parts of the country and engage in a range of activities. One of those activities is the NAS medical mission.
“So basically we chose rural areas, preferably where the rural populace is either a bit indigent or finds it difficult to get access to medical services as frequently as we would want them to, and we carry out basic checks on them like blood pressure, checking their blood glucose, malaria parasite and other tests as well.
“By doing this, we can pick up, like you know, people with high blood pressure or high blood glucose, which eventually leads to diabetes.
“Many times when they have these conditions, they don’t know because they don’t have any symptoms, everybody feels so I am fine. So what we intend to do here is, when we discover things, educate the patients. We hope that with this little thing we are doing, we can help people manage their health better and save lives.”
Also speaking, NAS Vice President, Enugu Branch, Dr Okechukwu Ogbodo, said Owo Community was selected due to its peculiar health challenges, including a cholera outbreak recorded in the area two years ago.
He said preliminary community assessments revealed a high incidence of preventable diseases, prompting the association to intervene.
According to him, the outreach in Owo followed similar exercises conducted in other rural communities, such as Iva Valley and parts of Nsukka and Awgu, adding that the association rotates its interventions to ensure more exhaustive coverage across the state.
A member of the medical team, Dr H Godfrey, disclosed that each medical outreach costs about N3.5 million, covering drugs, consumables and logistics.
He said the most common conditions recorded during the exercise included hypertension, diabetes, malaria among adults and scabies and malaria among children.
Several beneficiaries expressed appreciation for the free services. Mrs Cecilia Nnamchi, who received corrective eyeglasses for an eye condition, thanked the association for alleviating her long-standing vision difficulty. Mr Donatus Ede said he was treated for eye problems, given free drugs and referred for dental care.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Anthonia Okorie, said she had never checked her blood pressure before the outreach and was surprised to learn it was high, describing the exercise as timely.
A trader, Mr Chinedu Eze, who was treated for malaria and screened for diabetes, said the outreach saved him the cost of hospital bills he could not afford, while several elderly residents commended the association for bringing healthcare directly to the community.
