Africare takes free medical care to Abuja IDPs

The camp of internally-displaced persons at New Kushingoro, Abuja, was in festive mood on Wednesday as a pro-health non-governmental organization, Africare, supported the camp with free medical care, health kits, and basic information that would improve the lives of mothers and children in the community.

Africare’s visit to the camp was part of activities lined up for commemoration of 4th Final of Powerforward, a highly competitive sporting (basketball) event that brings school children together in Abuja. The final holds in Abuja on Thursday.

Africare partners National Basketball Association (NBA) and ExxonMobil to use basketball and other learning skills to train students on how various strategies could be used not only to sensitize, but defeat diseases.

At the Kushingoro camp on Wednesday, Africare grouped mothers, young girls and children in the communities into various sections and supported them with different programmes such as free medical care, counselling for pregnant mothers, reproductive health for young girls and engagement of children and other youths in the community in sporting activities.

Speaking particularly on the reproductive health talk, Senior Support Programme Manager for Africare, Feyisike Adekeye, said: “The vision of Africare is improving the lives of Africans. We have a niche on reproductive health, women sexuality, women education and empowerment.”

We needed to do this to empower the young adolescent girls at the IDP camp in Kushingoro. We were able to select 20 young girls of 12 to 17 years old and shared reproductive health, personal hygiene information with them.
The team also sensitized women at the camp on how to use gas in place of firewood, or any other means of cooking that could constitute health hazards.

She also explained the link between sport and health, as used by the partners (Africare, NBA and ExxonMobil) “We are using basketball as conveyer for personal hygiene, leadership skills, public health information. For the camp, they don’t have the space to practice the sport, but they are still entitled to the information,” she said.