Arise Women Medical Outreach, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has charged Nigerians on the need to maintain good personal hygiene. The group recommended that it is necessary for Nigerians to keep their environment clean to avoid contracting diseases that would cause them pains and some times lead to premature death, when it could be prevented.

The free medical service was meant to provide healthcare for indigent Nigerians, who cannot afford medical service as part of the association’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

At the group’s press conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, convener, Mrs Siju Iluyomade said the association offers medical treatment to people with their mobile clinics. She added that their work has covered areas such as Yaba, Makoko, Ajah, Ebute Metta, Lagos Island and Apapa, among others.

However, Iluyomade informed during the visit to those communities there were indications that many Nigerians do not have access to medical care.

Iluyomade said: “Much premature death could have been prevented if the government or private organisations can provide necessary medical care to people at the onset of ailments. We teach people to maintain personal hygiene and importance of visiting the hospital any time they have changes in their body.

“Most importantly, we teach them about diet and exercises because there are lots of ailments related to nutrition and fitness. We provide medical facilities; do the eye test, give out eyeglasses and cancer screening. We screen for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and hypertension, free of charge. We run the mobile clinic treatment every Wednesday.

“Many indigent Nigerians die just because they cannot afford medical care. These set of people resort to self-medication, but we are committed to make sure every Nigerian has access to healthcare.

The group listed the CSR agenda executed to include donation of dialysis machine to Gbagada General Hospital, feeding 60,000 people per week from the streets, prisons and visiting motherless babies homes.”

Arise Women Abuja Chairperson, Dr Mojisola Odeku, said the association has two different ways of offering medical services, which include medical outreach, where the association visits different communities and during annual conferences when it organises a medical screening for programme participants.

However, she said during screenings, they discover people with hypertension, malaria, diarrhoea among others and offer care as well as promote community healthcare insurance scheme.

Odeku disclosed the association partners with other organisations such as Emzor Pharmaceuticals, Lagos State government, Silverbird TV and Federal government in order to raise fund for the service.