Ekiti: A unique approach to health challenges

Ekiti: A unique approach to health challenges
Early this year, one of the media aides to Governor Kayode Fayemi invited journalists to the Palace of Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Ruphus Adeyemo Adejugbe to cover an event. Being an impromptu invitation virtually none of them knew what the programme was all about.

On getting to the venue, they met a team of medical personnel attending to various categories of people, right inside the palace. It was then that they realised it was the Free Health Mission initiated by the Governor.

Oba Adejugbe, who used the opportunity to be screened by ophthalmologists, commended the state government for bringing quality healthcare closer to the people of the state.

Also his wife Eyesorun of Ado-Ekiti, Olori Margaret Bosede Adejugbe, who was impressed with the state government’s gesture, described the scheme as a “welfarist policy intended to touch the lives of the people of the state”.

The Olori said she and the royal family and the palace staff were surprised at the governor’s decision to bring the free health to them urging the people of the state to pray for the success of the Fayemi-led administration.

Interestingly, the journalists who had gone to cover the event also turned out to be beneficiaries of the scheme as some of them used the opportunity to seek medication at no cost. Drug and free eye glasses were given to them. It was the first phase of the programme.

Although, free medical intervention is not alien to the people of the state as successive governments had tried in one way or the other to bring people closure to free medication, what would probably make news are how the programme is conceived and the extent to which the targeted audience access it. Even as a governorship candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Fayemi ensured that the people of the state had a taste of what he had in stock for them in terms of dividends of democracy by ensuring that the progamme commenced in the state before he assumed power.

The governor, also enlisted the supports of his friends and associates in the scheme. Not too long ago, his associates donated state-of-the-art medical facilities to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Ado-Ekiti.

The facilities worth over N60 million which was delivered by Dr. Gboyega Adesokan, a United State-based associate of the governor included physiotherapy equipment, surgical equipment, bed and mattresses.

Adesokan said the donation of the health equipment was in response to the call of the governor to all Ekiti at home and in Diaspora to join hands with his government to transform the state in key sectors when it needs development.

Available records show that no fewer than 30,000 people benefitted from the programme when Fayemi was still a candidate of his party.

The ongoing FHM is powered by the Ekiti State Government in collaboration with a Non-Governmental Organization, known as ‘Development Support Initiative’ (DSI). Its target was the people in the hinter-land for them to have access to free diagnosis. Those found to have required further treatment were referred to secondary health care centres.

The FHM was also an avenue to propagate public health enlightenment aimed at reducing infant and maternal mortality as well as reducing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, HIV/AIDS etc to increase health awareness and avoid health risk behavior.

The first phase of this year’s edition was taken to communities across the three senatorial districts between 3rd and 20th January, in which a total number of 123,427 people were reached and a total number of 5,500 pairs of glasses distributed.

It was discovered that about 90 per cent of those treated in the eye unit has never had access to eye check before.

During Segun Oni’s Administration in the state free health intervention was code named ‘SURGICAL FESTIVAL’ and ‘EYE CAMP.’ It should be noted that between July 2007 and December 2009, a total of about 147,794 of Ekiti benefited from the exercise. Of this number, 544 underwent eye operations while another 1,278 underwent surgery for other illness. No fewer than 4,900 insecticides-treated nets were distributed in addition to 6,139 who benefited from typhoid vaccination.

One of Oni‘s predecessors, Ayo Fayose, also distributed free eye glasses to people during his three and half-year tenure.

But Fayemi in his bid to ensure the effectiveness of the scheme structured its execution on senatorial basis started late June with Ekiti North Senatorial District. Virtually all the 16 local government areas in the state were touched during the first phase of the FMM.

There are five local government areas in Ekiti North-Ido/Osi, Ikole, Ilejemeje, Moba and Oye-with a 10 communities selected to benefit from the scheme.

Between June 20 and June 30, massive crowd of people trooped out in Ikole-Ekiti, Ayedun-Ekiti, Isan-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Ilupeju-Ekiti, Ayetoro-Ekiti, Ifaki-Ekiti, Iye-Ekiti, Otun-Ekiti and Igogo-Ekiti covering the five LGAs in the senatorial district.

Fayemi, who recently flagged off the second phase of the mission, in Odo-Ayedun, told the prospective beneficiaries that those to be catered for in the new health initiative were children from ages zero to six, older people from 65 years and above, pregnant women and the physically challenged.

He explained that the programme had been restructured, saying it would now be on senatorial basis for effective coordination and to further penetrate the hinterland.

The governor noted that the next phase of the programme would hold in Ekiti Central Senatorial District in August while the last phase would be taken to Ekiti South Senatorial District in the last quarter of the year.

Describing health care as very crucial in the implementation of his administration’s eight-point agenda, Fayemi said all the health policies being implemented by his government were intended to benefit all the citizens of the state irrespective of their affiliations.

“This programme will not be limited to Ekiti North. General Free Health Programme is coming on the way because we want all segments of the state to benefit and it will not disturb the Free Health Mission being done on senatorial basis.

“The General Free Health Programme will be for the aged, pregnant women, children and retirees. If you need any medical attention from the doctors, come over and be examined. “If it is hypertension, diabetes, body pain, typhoid, come over to them because the treatment is free. You don’t have to be a card-carrying party member to benefit.

“Although I belong to the ACN and I am a Catholic by faith, this scheme is meant for all people in the state not minding the party or the faith you belong to because our government is a government for all the people of the state.

“Our Free Health Mission and all what we are doing for the people of this state have nothing to do with politics at all,” he said.

Drugs, equipment and personnel were deployed for the exercise in the towns earmarked where needy patients made up of men, women and children waited patiently to be attended to.

Undaunted by the magnitude of crowd which queued up to receive treatment, the DSI medical team led by Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, adopted an arrangement which gave all the people that came for treatment an equal opportunity to be attended to.

Medical records of all the patients were taken to assist the government in knowing the prevalent rate of some diseases in the state to adopt strategies to tackle same.

Eyeglasses were given to eye patients needing them after rigorous tests were conducted.

Many of the beneficiaries in the rural communities where the scheme was taken to, described the initiative as unprecedented and a signal that the government in Ado-Ekiti cared for those hitherto forgotten in far-flung communities.

Among those who benefited were the Olusin of Usin-Ekiti in Ikole Local Government Area of the state, Oba Oluyemi Adedeji, who was among the eye patients who received free eyeglasses at Odo-Ayedun.

One 70-year-old Mrs. Rachel Falope who was treated by doctors at Ikole said bringing quality doctors and drugs to the local communities had never happened in the history of the state.

To Mrs. Victoria Adeleye, another 70-year-old woman from Ijesa-Isu, who complained of generalised body pain expressed surprise that she was treated and given drugs without any money collected from her and other patients.

A beneficiary in Iye-Ekiti, Mr. Clement Amadi, who received drugs, described the Mission as a channel through which the grassroots were feeling the impact of the state government.

His wife, Mrs. Janet Amadi, an eye patient, urged the state government to do everything possible to ensure that the scheme was sustained as, according to her, many people in rural communities lack the resources to procure drugs to combats ailments like hypertension and diabetes.

“Some people don’t have the money to finance treatment of their health problems and this is an opportunity for them.

“I have seen the doctor and I have been given eyeglasses and no money was collected from me and other people who were treated. We are grateful to the governor for his efforts in the health sector and our prayer is that may God continue to help him,” she said.

The Iye-Ekiti outing was lit up by the presence of the wife of the governor, Mrs. Bisi Fayemi, who reiterated the commitment of the state government to commit more resources to health care delivery in the state.

A medical handbook on maternal health which was printed on her bill was distributed to beneficiaries who came to the antenatal unit of the Mission for their enlightenment and to ensure that a proper record of their treatment was kept anytime they visit health centers for treatment.

The governor’s wife used the opportunity to address women on the importance of family planning and reducing maternal mortality rate in Nigeria which has the second highest rate in the whole world.

Mrs Fayemi said: “We thank God that the light has shined in Ekiti and I want to say that free health services to our people is one of the promises made by my husband while campaigning for the governorship seat of the state.

“That is why you have voted for us and we will continue to do it for the benefit of the people of the state who deserve the very best. In Ekiti we don’t have oil like other states but our people are our wealth and everything possible must be done to take care of them. Human capital is our asset and we are going to take care of our people, what we are doing here today is for our own good and the good of our dear state.

“It is a pity that in Nigeria we have the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world after India which has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world and this is unacceptable. Some of the causes of maternal mortality are ignorance and lack of support during labour. We discover that when our women go to hospitals, there should be proper records about them and that is why we have produced this handbook.

Schooling them on the effective use of the handbook, she said: “You can take this handbook to anywhere and the doctor attending to you will know about your condition and know what to do. I want to advise our women to stop child bearing after four children because family planning will boost their health.”

Reviewing the second phase of the Mission, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wole Olugboji, described the second phase of the scheme held in Ekiti North Senatorial District as a huge success.

He disclosed that a total number of 23, 146 patients were treated while the exercise gulped more than N50 million.

His words: “By my own assessment and the assessment of those who participated and benefited, it was a huge success. Unlike that of January where we treated over 100,000 people in the first phase which covered all parts of the state, this time we were not after any particular target but to ensure that our people in this zone (Ekiti North) benefited.

“In the second phase held in the five local government areas in Ekiti North, we treated 23,146 citizens of the state and the whole exercise gulped over N50 million and this has to do with all aspects of the program me. And these include payment of stipends to the medical professionals engaged and in this one, 65 per cent of the medical personnel used are from Ekiti State unlike the first phase in which only 10 per cent Ekiti personnel participated.

“We are incorporating more Ekiti health workers into the scheme who had to be paid and we should not forget the purchase of medical instruments and equipment and disposables purchased for the scheme.”

Responding to questions on the quality of the personnel used, Olugboji said: “We ensured that professionals are engaged to do the job.

“Specialists in fields that are relevant are brought in. For example in the eye section, we have eye specialists, in the dental department; we have dental surgeons because you will be surprised that most of our people in the grassroots have never seen a dentist. We also have general practitioners, nurses and pharmacists. I am quite satisfied with the quality of the personnel used for the scheme. They are round pegs in the round holes.”

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