Rev. Fr Andinam
Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
The Efik National Association are currently carrying out a medical outreach programme where free surgeries and medical care are availed needy residents in rural communities in Cross River.
The group which is incorporated in the United States of America say they are in the state for the third year running “to give back to communities where we come from”.
A member of the group, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Andinam, said in Calabar that the outreach is basically philanthropic and undertaken at no cost to recipients.
He said that the medical outreach, which included the United States of America-based healthcare providers of Efik stock in Cross River, is determined to offer free services to those in need.
Andinam said: “First and foremost, we want to give back to communities where we come from. We have done that over the years, more than three years ago; we taken primary healthcare to our people in need.
“We have a team of Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, administrators so on in this outreach programme led by Dr. Felicia Bassey Akumune. Her team is working in partnership with the Cross River State Government. We are reaching out to areas with medical centres, healthcare clinics without medicine; where people do not have the resources to access qualitative primary health care.
“The successes and response to our gesture is proven by the turn-out in those areas and localities we visited so far. We have gone to Boki, Obubra, Adiabo, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) community, Akamkpa, we have been to Oban and so on.”
Andinam, a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Calabar, currently loaned to Charleston Diocese, South Carolina in the US, said the group also undertake health education, offer advice on diets and where to seek help.
“We are three teams. There is also a dedicated team at The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) doing ambulatory surgery for the outreach. The heath conditions we saw and offered medical advice, diagnosed and treated included common conditions like high blood pressure, eye surgeries, diabetes, appendicitis and so on,” he said.
He also appealed to governments at all levels in Nigeria to take health care of citizens seriously.
“Yes you built health centres long time ago but please equip them with professionals and resources for quality services, build a mobile clinic, give medications, diagnose any conditions because the people ned these,” he said.
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