NGO organises medical outreach for 3 orphanages

Lebarty Community Health Foundation, an NGO, has organised a one-day medical outreach for three different orphanages in Benin, the Edo capital. In an interviewon Sunday at Iduowina community, off Benin- Lagos Expressway, Dr Nosa Aigbe-Lebarty, Founder of the NGO, said “Not everyone can afford to pay for medical treatment”.

Aigbe-Lebarty said the foundation existed to meet the health needs of the vulnerable, elderly and less privileged groups in society. He said conducting a general medical examination as well as eye checks for children in orphanages was a way to promote universal health access for all. “It was a massive turnout, seeing the amount of support the children need; the basic things just made me feel a sense of responsibility to do more.

“It was a good outing and it was an eye-opener for me, I got to see what the children go through. People go to orphanages to give palliatives, but the health status of the children is very key.

“Knowing that they don’t have that warm touch from their biological parents gets to me as a father,” he said. He assured that follow-up would be done for the cases of children with serious health issues, especially the case of a four-year-old child suffering from blindness.

“We saw some children who were malnourished, those with birth complications and those with malaria, catarrh and cough. We gave them free drugs and also gave out some palliatives to the children.”

Rev. Sister MaryJoy Anoliefo, one of the representatives of the Trinitarian Missionary of Merciful Love Congregation orphanage at the outreach, commended the NGO for considering the health needs of the less privileged. She said: “We are very happy that our children were selected to benefit from the free medical treatment, it is not an easy thing to pay for medical consultation and drugs at the hospital. Our children were attended to in a friendly and warm manner, so we are very happy. May the Almighty God bless the doctors and the organisers.”

Dr Beauty Ehikioya, Director of Primary Health Care, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo, advised parents and guardians to protect their wards from coming down with malaria and cold during the rainy season. Ehikioya, while commending the NGO for the free medical programme, noted that most of the children examined had malaria and upper respiratory tract infections.

“Dr Nosa Aigbe has done well in considering the health needs and welfare of the less privileged in society. “He organised a free medical programme and also gave food items and learning materials and the children are all happy,” she said.

According to newsmen reports, more than 100 children from the three different homes and their caregivers benefitted from the outreach. a session of the medical outreach was dedicated to the elderly in the community where they were screened for different basic illnesses and also provided with medication. The foundation also distributed water purifiers to some members of the community to reduce the cases of cholera.