8 out of 10 elderly Nigerians prone to high BP

About eight out of 10 elderly Nigerians in rural communities stand a high risk of health complications caused by high blood pressure because they are far removed from health facilities and requisite care, the Health Adviser for Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Red Cross, Dr. Femi Oloyede, has said.

Oloyede, who said this during a free medical service programme organised by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Africa, with support from the Australian Embassy, in Makoko area of Lagos, noted that lack of adequate healthcare and facilities pose serious risks to poor Nigerians.

He lauded the medical services initiative as being instrumental to bringing expensive medical services to people, who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to afford them, adding that the medical mission has lifted a huge burden from people in the indigent community.

He said, “One ailment that has stood out since we started here is high blood pressure. Almost eight out of every 10 people we have attended to here have high blood pressure. Most of them didn’t know they were living with the ailment until now. The lesson there is that we have succeeded in saving a lot of lives because these are people that we now counsel. They are people that otherwise would have slumped anywhere because they had severe cases of the ailment. We had to ask some of them to wait behind. We would follow it up.”

The Regional Director of CBN BN Africa, Dr. Felix Oisamoje said that the mission involved free medical services, including eye tests, check ups, minor surgeries and counseling at no cost, adding that the communities are in dire need of the services.

He said, “We are sure the services provided would go a long way to improve the socio-economic realities in the communities and enable the people lead better lives. Our sponsors are very supportive, especially the Australian embassy, who helped us in getting a microscope, which would go a long way in improving the aid we provide for the people in rural communities.”