No fewer than 200 people from the Gelegele community in the Ovia North East local government area of Edo State, on Saturday, January 11, 2025, benefited from a free medical outreach by The Ecological Action Advocacy Foundation (TEAAF).
The free medical care by TEAF, which included an eye test and free eyeglasses, sugar level test, blood pressure test, weight, general test, and dispense of free drugs, was done in the community with the support of the African Coal Network.
Speaking at the event, which was held at the community town hall, programme director of TEAAF Ajirioghene Offi said the organisation’s drive to help the less privileged and particularly reduce the effect of the gas flare on the people of the community birthed the outreach.
“We came to Gelegele community to reach out to the less privileged, and to see how we can help reduce the effect and impacts of the gas flare on the people of the community.
“As you can see, we are here with Doctors and Nurses. We were able to attend to as many as we could. We tested them and gave them the drugs that fit individual ailments. They were also given free eyeglasses and eye medication. They are all happy,” she said.
Offi, while lamenting that the people are passing through a lot of health challenges as a result of extractive activities in their community, appealed to the government at all levels to assist the people.
Speaking of his observation about the health challenges prevalent in the community, Dr. Nicholas Avabore Akpevboghene, said, “Most of them are actually affected by the adverse effect of the gas flare. Many of them who came to us complained of skin irritation, visual disturbances, as well as itching.
“Those complaints are rampant, and they can be attributed to the side effect of the gas flaring in the community.”
He added: “But going further, we rendered assistance medically to them based on their complaints. And the majority of them were actually satisfied with the medical care we rendered.”
On his part, a doctor of Optometry, Healson Dingwo, said, “In the course of examining the patients, what I found very prevalent among them is cataracts, more so body itching. All these could be traced to effects of the flare in the community. Because heat is also a way of triggering cataracts. So, if you live very close to a flare, these ailments would be very common.”
One of the beneficiaries of the free medical outreach, Friday Kororo, while appreciating the organisation for counting the community worthy of the outreach, noted: “These are the things the company extracting oil from our community should be doing for us, but they failed. The government too failed in providing healthcare for us. We have oil but we are suffering. We need help.”
He added: “There was a time, some years ago, the company brought drugs for us, but the drugs were not even enough. So, we don’t have proper health care here.”
On his part, another beneficiary, Francis Beru, who lamented that many of them who are facing eye challenges caused by the flare are not old enough to have such a challenge, however, expressed gladness for the free medical outreach, saying it will help in their eye challenge.
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