By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Kwara Government is targeting 9000 indigent persons across the 16 local government areas of the state for its Annual Medico-Surgical outreach activities for 2024.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, made this known at a news conference in Ilorin on Thursday.
She disclosed that the free medico-surgical outreach would commence on June 6 and that the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH) in Ilorin West would be the starting point.
She explained that the outreach, an initiative of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has become an annual activity that brings vital medical services to the doorsteps of least privileged residents.
She added that “this annual initiative underscores our commitment to ensure that every individual, regardless of socioeconomic status, has access to quality healthcare.
“Throughout the state, medical consultations, eye screening and surgeries will be offered to those in need.”
According to her, this is not just about addressing immediate healthcare needs, it’s about restoring hope and dignity to those who often find themselves marginalised and overlooked.
El-Imam recalled that in 2023, over 7000 people benefitted from medical treatments, eye surgeries and hernia surgeries in the outreach.
She urged communities to avail themselves of the invaluable opportunity and enjoined parents to ensure their female children from nine to 14 years received the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine currently going on.
The commissioner emphasised that the vaccine would serve as protection for the girls against cervical cancer, which is the third common cancer among women.