A Nigerian health worker in Ebola protective gear
The United States-based Nigerian health professionals, comprising medical doctors, nurses and pharmacists on medical mission in Abia State, said they would be quarantined for 21 days for Ebola virus when they return to the US.
The leader of the 75-man team and the National President of Abia State National Association of North America, Dr. Christian Ike, disclosed this at a press conference in Umuahia after the team’s one-week free medical services in Abia State.
He decried the stigmatisation of Ebola-infested countries by the West, wondering why visitors to Nigeria would still be isolated even when the country had been certified “Ebola-free.”
Ike said members of the team who are Abia indigenes and health experts made a lot of sacrifices to sponsor the medical mission. He said that their passion for the people was their driving force.
He said the gesture was part of their contributions towards the development of the state and to complement the efforts of the state government in the health sector.
Ike said the team had committed over $420,000 to drugs alone, besides transport fare, accommodation and other logistics. He added that all members of the team, comprising 24 doctors, 21 pharmacists and 30 nurses, were all volunteers.
he said, “Our joy is that we are privileged to be at the giving end, and we want our people to have access to quality medical care.”
Ike said over 6,200 patients diagnosed with various ailments received treatments during the exercise while 74 surgeries were conducted.
According to him, malaria, diabetes, high blood pressure and eye-related problems were discovered to be the commonest of the cases they handled.
He decried the high rate of killer diseases, especially diabetes and high blood pressure which he said were discovered to be common even among youths. He called for improved diets and regular medical check-ups as remedies.
“People should reduce their intake of starch and eat more of fruits,” he advised.
Ike said that the team also disclosed to the patients the names of drugs prescribed for them and gave them instructions on local hospitals to go for follow-up treatments.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based practitioner said the association had initiated talks with the state government for some health facilities in the state to be taken over and run by medical experts of Abia origin based overseas so that the people could be offered the kind of medical services equivalent to what was obtainable abroad.
He lauded the efforts of the government in the health sector but called for more expansion and improvement on the available facilities and access roads to hospitals.
The team, which grouped itself into three for wider coverage, conducted services in well-publicised and strategic hospitals and public institutions in all the three senatorial districts in the state. It also extended the gesture to the state’s police command.
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