Health care should be accessible to indigent people – Akinlabi

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Pistis
Foundation, Godman Akinlabi has stated that
access to health care should be at little or no
cost to the less-privileged in Nigeria.
Godman Akinlabi
Akinlabi said this during a press conference
on Ubomi; an upcoming weeklong free
medical and surgical outreach targeting up
to 4,000 people in Lagos. According to him,
“It takes parents that are healthy to keep
children in schools. Therefore, health
should be at little or no cost to indigent
people.”
The programme is organised by Pistis
Foundation, a faith-based non-governmental
organization set up by The Elevation Church
(TEC), to help the economically challenged
through education (formal and informal),
healthcare and shelter. The foundation has
partnered with other organizations on the
outreach, including Pro-Health International, St
Kizito hospital, Amethyst Hospital, Paediatric
Care Clinic, and the Lagos State Ministry of
Health. The Ministry has also screened the
medical personnel involved and will provide
ambulances for the exercise.
Speaking on the rationale for embarking on
Ubomi, Akinlabi, who is also the Lead Pastor
TEC, said that the organization’s primary goal
was empowerment through education. However,
in an attempt to do that, they realized it can only
be successful if the people are in the right
condition of health.
Access is still the greatest challenge to health
care delivery in Africa. According to McKinsey,
Africa suffers about one-quarter of the world’s
burden of disease yet has barely three percent of
its health workers. Conservative estimates
suggest that four in ten people in sub-Saharan
Africa have no access to medical facilities or
personnel.
Ubomi, which is the first of its kind in the Lekki-
Epe area, will commence on Monday 18th and
end on Friday 22nd March 2018 at Pistis Annex,
3 Remi Olowude Street, by Marwa Bus Stop,
Lekki, Lagos.
According to the Chief Operating Officer of TEC,
Tunji Iyiola, over 200 healthcare professionals
including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from
across the country will be volunteering for the
program.
“We expect that at least 300 procedures,
including surgeries will be carried out,” Iyiola
added
Ubomi is a Xhosa word, meaning “life”.
According to the head of communications for
TEC, Chinny Ugorji, “it is designed to cater to
indigent people who cannot afford medical/
surgical fees for their health conditions. As such,
Pistis Foundation will be attending to everyone
who fits this profile, irrespective of religious or
ethnic background, within the 4,000 person-limit,
during the outreach. Being attended to will be on
a first-come basis, except in emergency cases.”
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Helen Mbonu, the Medical Team Lead for Pro-
Health International, an organization of
volunteering medical practitioners says the three
partner hospitals will provide post-event care for
some of the patients involved in the exercise.
Speaking about arrangements for post-surgical
recovery, Mbonu said: “We have made
arrangements with the hospitals and they have
been informed that we will be visiting.”