Cleric decries preventable deaths among rural dwellers
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), City of David has commenced the construction of a four-bed Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Dakibiyu, an urban slum community located in Jabi District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The project is to reduce high incidence of deaths from preventable ailments, following lack of healthcare facilities in the community. Located in the heart of the nation’s seat of power, Dakibiyu has over 8,000 residents, but lacks basic amenities.
Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony of the PHC and the free medical outreach in the community at the weekend, the pastor-in-charge of the City of David, RCCG, Gbolade Okenla, lamented that a lot of Nigerians die of preventable illnesses in rural communities in the country due to lack of access to healthcare services.
He explained that the church during its medical outreach in the community in May, 2022, noticed that there was no single health facility in the community and decided that it would build a primary healthcare centre.
Okenla said the Parish will be sponsoring the health centre and sending medical teams four times a week, to enable residents to have access to free medical services.
He called on the Federal Government to establish primary healthcare centres across communities in the country, adding that the provision of such facilities will give Nigerians access to healthcare services and reduce the burden on secondary and tertiary health facilities.
He said: “There are a lot of pregnant women and people with minor diseases that shouldn’t lead to death but the lack of N500, N1,000 or even N2,000 to move out of the community is causing people to die.
“We are providing free medical outreach as part of our Social Responsibility and to let the people know that though the government might have neglected them, we have not forgotten them. So, we have come to show compassion, love and to let them know that we know they exist and we care about them.”
Head of the church’s medical team, Dr. Ado Theophilus, said a team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other support staff from the church decided to carry out the exercise to treat residents of the community who couldn’t afford such medicare.
He observed the prevalence of malaria, skin diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, seizure disorder and others in the community including two cases of infection that could have resulted in amputation if not for the medical intervention.
A recipient, Lydia Ukeme said she was happy for her treatment and the scans ran on her and called on the government to do more to enhance public health.
“Thank God when I came here, I met with the doctors and nurses, they were very loving in attending to us. They ran tests on us and gave us the drugs, so, I am happy. I didn’t pay for the treatment,” she said.
Similarly, a resident of Daki Biu, Nasiru Abubakar said he was treated for high blood pressure. He said: “One of my friends told me that they are giving free medicare at the Daki Biu Primary School and I came and received mine.”
