The Niger Delta Development Commission says no fewer than two million residents of the Niger Delta region have benefited from its ongoing free medical outreach.
This is according to a statement made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday by the commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Pius Ughakpoteni.
According to Ughakpoteni, the NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed the figure at the flag-off of the medical outreach in Cross River State on Sunday.
He added that the outreach had been carried out in eight states within the region with a mandate to align with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of universal health coverage for all.
The statement read in part, “Ogbuku, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Education, Health and Social Services, Dr Eme Inyangabia, said the free healthcare programme was a flagship of the Commission, targeted at changing the health situation and narrative of the people in the region.
“It is in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, number three, which aspires to achieve universal health coverage and ensure health and well-being for all.”
The statement noted further that medical cases such as malaria and fibroid surgeries would be attended to during the outreach.
It quoted the NDDC Director, of Education, Health and Social Services, Dr George Uzonwanne, as saying, “Those who will go through surgeries will be monitored until they are ready to be discharged from the facility as we have a team on ground to handle that, and cases that we are unable to handle will be referred to tertiary facilities for treatment.”
“We are looking to treat 3,000 to 3,500 patients but not really the number of patients but the number of data points because one patient may have more than three interventions. So we are looking at between 12,000 to 15,000 data points.”
Present at the flag-off ceremony were the Chairman, Senate Committee on NDDC, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, the member representing Akamkpa 1 State Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Okon Owuna, the paramount ruler of Akamkpa, Ewot Ebani, among others.
