Kunle Adelabu
The Founder of the Abayomi Adelakun Footprints, a foundation focusing on community development, Pastor Abayomi Adelakun, FCA, has pledged to spread the medical outreach of the Foundation across the 10 zones of the Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Ikorodu Division of Lagos State, Southwest, Nigeria.
Pastor Adelakun, the Chairman, Central Development Committee (CDC), Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, continued his medical outreach last weekend at the Oke – Ota community, where a large number of residents benefitted from his good gesture.
The foundation was formally launched about two weeks ago with the first edition of the medical outreach programme at Ibeshe axis of the council.
Aside the free tests, eye-glasses and drugs that the beneficiaries enjoyed, there was also medical sensitization on stroke and arthritis by Dr Adekola Adegbenro, the Chief Medical Officer, Ayanmo Lagba, while Mrs Bickersteth, a nurse with the Health Centre, Ibeshe, sensitized the gathering on hypertension and diabetes.
Speaking with THE IMPACT, Pastor Adelakun, who expressed his satisfaction at the programme so far, said that his team is working on how to stage good and impactful medical exercise in other zones of the council.
He said that the outreach was initiated to create awareness on the importance of good health care for the people at the grassroots and bringing the facilities closer to them.
“By the special grace of God, I am the Chairman, CDC Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, and the council consists of 10 major communities/zones. I am still working on the modalities to use in going round the other communities with the time table that we already have. Our intention is to have good outreach programmes in those communities like we did at Ibsehe and now at Oke Ota”, he said.
“We have over 300 CDAs in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA under the 10 zones, that is from Igbogbo to Oreyo, Ibeshe, Owode, Offin, Oreta among others. Our aim is to bring them together to benefit from the medical outreach.
“We are using this medical outreach to create awareness for people to take good care of their health. We have come about a lot of discoveries with lots of people moving around with sickness that they don’t know about, but now that they are aware, it’s an opportunity for them to attend to it. We have also giving them referral to hospitals to get proper medical treatment”, he added.
He said that he will still be reaching out to governent and elected officials to request their support over medical bills for some with critical cases and those that are giving referral but can’t afford hospital bills and for the sustenance of the initiative.
“Yes, of course. I am planning to reach out to them. We have adequate coverage of the medical outreach and I know that they are reading and following what we are doing. At the appointed time, I will reach out to them. I plan to reach out to our JB (Hon. Babajimi Benson), OGA (Hon. Ogunleye Gbolahan Adetokunbo), AMA (Hon. Aro Moshood Abiodun) and our dear Senator Abiru. They are all very good government officials”, he said.
“Won ni eleru lo maa ko ko gbe eru e, ki won to ba gbe (Someone must show efforts and sense of responsiveness before others can intervene in his pursuit to assist him achieve his dream). With these, we are reaching out to the people within our capacity and we are sure that they would intervene to assist us in giving proper medical assistance to our rural residents that are seriously in need”.
Dr Mohammed Abayomi Hassan, a retired medical doctor who attended to beneficiaries at the outreach, called for the sustenance of the programme, while also charging the local government to revamp Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and make them functional, and provide more of them, especially in Ibeshe to cater for the large number of residents that are residing there. .
“It is a laudable initiative and it is advised that this outreach should continue in all our communities, because it will help the health system to handle some people who ordinarily would have gone to the General Hospital with minor problems, thereby, giving the people at the hospital lots of task”, he said.
“A proper primary health centre must be in every location and properly equipped than what we have here. Thanks to the Adelakun Foundation that brought this medical outreach to Oke Ota, a local community in Ibeshe, and I really thanked them for it.
The medical doctor was of the view that people at the grassroots needed adequate information when being giving prescriptions, for strict adherence.
“People benefiting from outreach like this and not using their medications proper or follow the doctor’s advice, is due to lack of proper education on the implications of stopping their medications. If properly informed, I am sure that they would follow the prescription religiously, especially our people in this locality. They are not as naive as you think. They are quite intelligent but they need information to follow up whatever treatment that you give them”, he said.
Dr Hassan called for support for the foundation in expanding and sustaining the outreach initiative for the benefit of the people.
“The outreach must go further than this. In fact, other people can also take it up wherever they go. He’s not a rich man but rather a concerned man who is concerned about his people and community. If we have other concerned people like him, the outreach should be done in other communities too. The program cut across every tribe. We have seen Igbos and other tribes who are not Yorubas, and this further buttress the fact that Lagos is the representation of Nigeria”, he said.
While further commending the Adelakun foundation’s initiative, the retired doctor said that the presence of a functional primary health facilities would reduce the pressure on the General Hospital and other secondary medical facilities.
Many of the beneficiaries and community leaders at the outreach programme thanked Pastor Adelakun for initiating the programme which was described as highly benefiting to their community.
