ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
No fewer than 3,000 residents of Bayelsa State have benefited from the medical outreach organised by the State Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The SDGs office said the outreach was aimed at improving the well-being of people in the three senatorial districts of the state.
It said the beneficiaries received free medical services from medical professionals including surgeons and pharmacists who provided services like screening for hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Covid-19 and vaccination as well as surgeries.
The medical outreach which kicked-off at Sampou community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area in Bayelsa Central, berthed at Sagbama town in the West Senatorial district and climaxed at Ogbolomabiri in Nembe LGA in Bayelsa East Senatorial District
The event also witnessed dental care, eye test and free eyeglasses, wheelchairs and crutches for those with disabilities.
Speaking with reporters, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals, Dr. Ebiwari Wariowei, said the essence of the medical outreach was to provide immediate critical healthcare to the people of the state.
According to Wariowei, the programme is also organised to ensure the people in the various communities are healthy in line in the maxim “health is wealth”, as it is only healthy citizens that can go about veritable ventures.
He stated: “We are undertaking minor surgeries like the one for hernia, eye test, dental care, HIV/AIDS testing, typhoid, malaria and many more.
“This is to give them primary health care and we must say thank you to Governor Douye Diri for always prioritising the health and well-being of our people”.
While thanking Diri for approving funds for the health intervention programme, he emphasized that the agency remained a key vision driver of the prosperity agenda of the governor.
Wariowei, who himself underwent dental care, eye test, and presented some wheel chairs and crutches to physically challenged persons, visited the theatre room to encourage patients undergoing surgery for hernia.
The Health Desk Officer at the Bayelsa SDGs Office, Dr. Lily Appah, expressed delight that the people in the three senatorial districts turned out in their numbers to take advantage of the services offered by the medical team.
He said: “We are really happy that people came out. Starting from the first day at Sampou and Sagbama Town and now Ogbolomabiri, the turn out has been massive and we can see joy palpitating in the faces and heart of the people we have impacted.
“A lot of people have really benefitted and we are grateful to the miracle governor and SSA on SDGs”.
She thanked the medical team for carrying out their task professionally and urged the people to expect more health interventions in the coming days as the Bayelsa SDGs Office is committed to impacting lives.
A beneficiary, Mrs. Ebiotu Kwesi, a retiree, said though she lives in Ughelli in Delta State, on hearing the announcement on radio, she quickly travelled back home to Sampou to receive free medical care.
” I’m very pleased and pleasured and happy about this free medical care packaged by the state government and the SDGs Office. The treatment is good and i want it to be sustained,” the retired stated.
The paramount ruler of Sagbama Federated Communities, Chief Magbisa Moses-Ojo, said most health facilities in the local areas were not performing optimally and expressed joy that the government had brought succour through the SDGs intervention in health.