From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
An NGO, Hallelujah Medical Mission (HMM) on Monday, conducted basic medical health awareness and promotion programme for over 200 children in Mopa community, Mopamuro Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi State.
The children were also dewormed and given free drugs such as Vitamin A, multivitamins, paracetamol tablets and antimalarial drugs.
Dr Muyiwa Komolafe, a Medical Practitioner, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital and leader of the medical team who spoke to newsmen at the First ECWA Church Mopa venue of the programme on behalf of the Hallelujah Medical Mission, noted that the medical outreach in Mopa community, was targeted at children especially between the ages of one to seven years, which would be done annually.
He stressed the need to inculcate proper hygiene habits into the children and for them to be properly sensitised, saying basic hygiene could prevent more than 80 percent of cases of infectious diseases.
He said the gesture would not only be for the children but would also be extended to the entire population in the community and spread across the LGA in the subsequent years ahead.
”Today, we have taught the children basic personal hygienes such as proper hand washing, bathing, teeth brushing, covering of food, cutting of hair and nails, among others.
”We have also given the children deworming tablets, multivatmins, paracetamol and antimalarial drugs so as to complement government’s efforts in having healthy children in the society.
”We prepared for 200 children but the turnout was more. we are happy that people responded, and we are able to reach out to all of them and put smile on their faces today.
”We are also hoping to have free surgery for people in the future, and make the program much bigger, better and properly organised”, he said.
Komolafe added that they had also examined the testes of some male children to know if they descended, noting that an operation must be done to correct the testes if they did not come down.
He noted that they had so far examined about 86 children, and detected three children whose testes did not properly come down, and would require surgery.
