Abbas Bamalli, Katsina
An NGO, Dahiru Mangal Foundation has carried out a five-day medical outreach where over 500 vulnerable people were treated of various ailments and given free drugs.
Malam Hussaini Kabir, a member of the foundation’s Board of Trustees (BoT), said on Saturday, at the General Hospital Katsina, during the outreach, that it was for the second quarter of the year.
He further explained that the patients were treated for hernia, hydrocele(swelling of the scrotum) cataract and others and were given free drugs and medical counsel.
Kabir noted that the beneficiaries were selected from the 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, including some patients from neighbouring states.
He said, “This medical outreach programme is a quarterly intervention by the foundation, in each quarter we reach out to less privileged persons who are facing various health challenges.
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“In this quarter, we are treating patients with hernia, hydrocele and cataract, where our team of medical personnel use some operation theaters of General Hospital Katsina to treat the patients.
“Before each outreach programme we receive the names and other details of beneficiaries and screen them to ascertain their health challenges.
“After which we fix the dates for the exercise and invite them in batches. After treatment, each patient is given free drugs throughout the period of his recovery,” he said.
Kabir said that where there is need to dress treated ailments, they do it free of charge after which they offer them counsel on how to guard themselves against diseases and infections.
He pointed out that the foundation has engaged the best medical team and procured high quality drugs and medical equipment for operations and other procedures to ensure quality and accessible healthcare services for the beneficiaries.
“The foundation is exclusively for empowerment, development, educational, charitable purposes and supporting the poor and vulnerable in the area of healthcare and economic skill.
“The foundation, initiated in 2016, had also sponsored surgical operations on thousands of patients across the state, neighbouring states and also Niger Republic,” he said.
A cross section of patients who received treatment during the programme expressed gratitude to the foundation for the gesture.
Fatima Ibrahim from Mai’adua LGA who was treated for cataract and given drugs, commended the gesture, saying that she would never forget such.
Halima Alwaru from Masanawa in Katsina metropolis said her daughter, Amina Alwaru, was also treated for cataract, which if not for the foundation, she can not afford.
Halima Amiru from Katoge village, and Ibrahim Tukur of Jibia town, all in Jibia LGA treated for cataract, lauded the effort of the foundation and called on other wealthy individuals, politicians and government to emulate the gesture.
Meanwhile those who had minor operations like hydrocele and hernia couldn’t be reach to talk to because of their situation.
(NAN)