Caritas Nigeria has provided free medical services to over 800 residents of the Durumi community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as part of activities to mark its 15th anniversary in the country.

Meanwhile, the organisation has urged the federal government to take proactive steps to fix the poor medical infrastructure in health facilities across the country in order to stem medical tourism and brain drain that is bedevilling the health sector.

It also appealed to the government to improve the welfare of healthcare workers to reduce the incessant strikes in the system.

Executive Secretary of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Peter Babangida Audu, who made the call during the medical outreach on Wednesday in Abuja, lamented that public office holders prefer to go abroad for treatment instead of equipping medical facilities in the country.

He observed that many Nigerians, especially in rural communities, are passing through different medical challenges but cannot access healthcare services due to lack of facilities, poor infrastructure, and poverty.

“If the facilities are equipped, I bet you, our doctors will not go anywhere. The welfare of staff, the welfare of people, is very important. So if you want to reduce industrial action, reduce migration of healthcare workers, the welfare of staff and equipping the facilities are very essential,” he said.

Audu noted that Caritas Nigeria has carried out about 117 projects in the past 15 years, reaching out to over 18 million beneficiaries, adding that the free medical services were a way of giving back to the community in line with the principles and values of the church to enhance the dignity of people and identify with the most vulnerable in society.

He said, “In this community where we live, there are people who are in dire need of health services, and there are people who cannot afford common Panadol. They can’t afford it. Unfortunately, the level of poverty, the poverty line, is an issue. Some cannot even afford to go and see a doctor. How much is consultation? In some places, they will charge you 1,000 Naira, and that 1,000 Naira, some people will tell you they need to go and buy garri just to feed. So, we just thought that this year, let’s see how we can be able to reach out to the poor among us in taking care of their health. We are also handling other components that are related to health, like counselling and mental health.”

Also speaking, the Senior Technical Adviser for TB and Infectious Diseases, Caritas Nigeria, Dr. Chukwuemeka Charles Okorie, said that Caritas is an agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria dedicated to humanitarian and emergency services, adding that services being provided in the medical outreach include general medical consultation, dental care, optometry, mental health care, pharmacy, and laboratory services.

He said, “We are going to be taking care of some medical quick fixes, and then also make appropriate referrals for patients that need specialist referrals. We are doing this as part of what we give to our immediate community to commemorate the anniversary of Caritas Nigeria. The Ideal Dental Foundation has promised to take care of advanced dental cases that were discovered free of charge, and then we have optometrists who will also select patients who may need surgical intervention. We are working with the National Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. So when we identify presumptive cases, we make appropriate referral to primary health care centres where samples are collected for TB evaluation and then sent to the lab for diagnosis.”

The Programme Director, Caritas Nigeria, Dr Amana Effiong, stated that there is a lot of illness in the community, but many people can’t afford to go to the regular hospitals for healthcare, adding that the medical outreach provides an opportunity for people to come, receive free healthcare services, and counselling on ways of preventing some common diseases.

Effiong explained that the organisation is providing free medications, free eye checks, free dental care, and psychosocial support for people who may have mental health problems, where they can receive counselling and appropriate referral.