Rotary International organises free prostate, cervical screening

No fewer than 80,000 persons in Lagos and Ogun States benefitted from Rotary Family Health and Aids Prevention programme.

The programme, organized by Rotary International, Districts 9110, 9925, 9140 and 9142 held simultaneously in about 120 locations throughout Nigeria with 54 locations in Lagos and Ogun States alone. The programme was declared open at Rotary Centre, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, with many people including the District 9110 co-coordinator of Rotary Family Health Days, Rotarian Bola Oyebade, seizing the opportunity to know their health status.

According to Oyebade, the national programme, which has been running for the past seven years within communities alone, moved further this year to include prisons in Lagos State.

He lamented the state of many Nigerians walking on the streets with no knowledge of their health status and disclosed that Rotary clubs in the various districts mounted booths in various locations to test, screen and examine members of the public on critical issues, with the free services including HIV testing and counseling, Hepatitis B & C, Diabetes & Glucose level screening, Hypertension screening, Tuberculosis screening, de-worming for children, malaria mcreening and treatment, cervical cancer screening, eye cataract tests and treatment among others.

He noted that anyone found positive in some critical cases like prostrate cancer was given referral to hospitals for more test while girls with cervical cancer were given the needed vaccine, adding that Rotary International was in partnership with the government, government hospitals and some private hospitals inclusive of Primary Health Centers.

According to National Secretary, Rotarians for Family Health and Aids Prevention, Assistant Governor, Ben Okhumale, 3,000 patients with hepatitis B were attended to in the last similar programme but the number was increased this year to 6,500 to allow for more beneficiaries.