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Balqees Adeniji
In a bold move to improve public health and clean up the streets of Nigeria of neglected minds of mind, the federal government, in collaboration with the neuropsychiatric hospital, Aro, Abokuta, intensified its free medical awareness program through the Senatorial District of Ogun Central.
The initiative, which began in 2024, has now reached the area of the local government of the south of Abeokuta, providing free health services to over 215 residents, including pregnant women, elderly, young people and children.
The program, held in Abeokuta, is part of a wider mission of federal health that aims at the base and vulnerable groups.
It offers free registration, the evaluation of the body mass index (BMI), blood pressure controls, blood sugar tests, consultations with doctors and drugs.
Pregnant women, the mothers who breastfeed and the elderly also receive networks treated with free insecticides.
At the center of the initiative is the push to remove people with the mind from the streets, where they often represent risks of safety and safety.
The consultant psychiatrist, dr. Ibrahim Nurudeen Oyekola, who guides mental health intervention, described the effort as a medical and social responsibility.
“People sick with mind are often seen as threats: some attack passersby, others are exchanged for kidnappers or criminals.
The truth is that these are sick individuals abandoned by overwhelmed families and a negligent system.
This initiative is cleaning our society by giving these individuals a second possibility of life, “explained Dr. Oykola.
From the launch of the program, ten individuals who have been brought out of care roads have been taken out, all at no cost.
Dr. Oyekola underlined the need for society to change his perception of mental illness.
“People need to know that mental illness is just like any other disease. It is not a spiritual curse or something shameful.
“When you see someone sick on the street, do not fire them. Show empathy. They need care, not condemnation,” he said.
Part of the awareness provides for the education of communities during road visits.
The medical team builds a relationship with vagabonds, often providing food or other incentives to encourage voluntary hospital visits.
Answering questions about traditional or base herbal methods, Dr. Oykola took a balanced position.
He said: “As a Yoruba man, I will not say that our herbalists do nothing well. They have given contributions and we learn from them.
“But psychiatry today adopts a holistic – psychological, social, professional approach – not only herbs. What we offer in Aro is complete,” he said.
Even Dr. (Mrs.) Egua Lydia, president of the committee for the health campaign and family doctor at the Mother and Child Hospital, Mowe, praised.
“Too many Nigerians treat their bodies worse than their cars or generators treat.
“The average person will hurry to repair a defective generator, but neglects the symptoms in his body until he is too late,” he observed.
Dr. Lydia noticed the bad behavior in search of health in the communities and the urgent need for proactive health care, in particular with the increase in the cost of life and drugs.
“Health care must be seen as a right. Inflation is real. A drug that costs N3.000 a few months ago now it costs almost N10.000.
The poor cannot cope. That’s why initiatives like this are life -saving, “he said.
The awareness, which currently focuses on six areas of the local government of Ogun Central, brings essential health care to people where they are – without expecting to visit overwhelming health facilities.
“We are returning home from people. We are not waiting for them to come to us. This is the true essence of universal health care,” said Dr. Lydia.
With multiple local governments to be covered, the initiative is gaining momentum and a widespread support of the community.
The success recorded so far is not only to improve the health of the residents, but also to clean up the roads, physically and socially.
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