The Pistis Foundation has commenced a five-day free medical and surgical outreach in Lagos, targeting 5,000 residents for treatment of various health conditions, including eye and dental problems, as well as surgical cases.
The 11th Ubomi Medical and Surgical Outreach, the flagship health initiative of the foundation, which began on Monday, is being held at the Pistis Annex and the Hospital for Trauma and Surgery, located opposite each other in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos State.
The outreach provides free medical services to people in underserved communities.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the Founder and Board Chair of the Pistis Foundation, Godman Akinlabi, said the foundation hoped to attend to about 5,000 beneficiaries by the end of the week, with over 10,000 medical interventions projected.
He said 1,717 beneficiaries had received attention as of Tuesday, and that the team had performed 57 eye surgeries and 48 operating-room surgeries within two days.
Akinlabi said the initiative, which began in 2019, had reached more than 22,811 unique beneficiaries, with the foundation organising several annual outreaches to address healthcare needs in underserved communities.
“We believe that government alone cannot resolve all the problems because we are a heavily populated country and we need all hands on deck,” he said.
He noted that the prevailing economic situation had made it increasingly difficult for many Nigerians to afford quality medical care.
“With the economic situation in our country, many more people are now falling into the category of people who can no longer access quality medical care because they can no longer afford it,” he added.
Akinlabi said the foundation’s intervention was aimed at complementing government efforts, noting that untreated health conditions could affect the ability of individuals to work and provide for their families.
He said, “When the breadwinner in the family is under any form of medical situation that incapacitates him from being able to engage in meaningful work, it affects everyone in the family.”
Akinlabi also hinted that the foundation planned to commence the construction of an Ubomi Medical Centre to extend its healthcare services beyond periodic outreaches.
He added that the foundation also runs education and shelter programmes as part of its broader social intervention efforts.
Speaking, the foundation’s Executive Director, Leonard Thomas, said the outreach focused on primary and secondary healthcare, with services covering general medical consultations, dental care, eye treatment, general surgery and paediatric care.
Thomas said the foundation also provided follow-up support for beneficiaries after the outreach, including wound management and medication refills, to ensure that patients continued to recover.
He said, “There are people who have had cases and have not been able to take care of them for over five years, so this is a huge relief to them.”
Thomas disclosed that the foundation attended to about 3,600 people during its recent outreach in Ibadan, Oyo State, where it also performed more than 100 gynaecological surgeries and over 100 eye surgeries.
He said the foundation hoped to replicate and surpass the impact of the Ibadan programme in Lagos.
The Technical Partner, Dr Iko Ibanga, said Pro-Health International had partnered with the Pistis Foundation for seven years to organise the medical mission, with doctors volunteering their services to support the initiative.
One of the beneficiaries of the first Ubomi outreach in 2019, Jumoke Ishau, who underwent surgery to remove a 14.5kg fibroid after living with the condition for 11 years, returned to the programme as a volunteer.
Recounting her experience, Ishau expressed gratitude to the Elevation Church, the foundation and its partners for making the surgery possible, saying she had regained her health.
Akinlabi said Ishau’s experience demonstrated the lasting impact of the intervention, adding that she was now a grandmother and had returned to support other beneficiaries.
He said the foundation hoped her story would inspire more individuals and organisations to contribute to improving access to healthcare.
The press conference was attended by some other board members of Pistis Foundation and partners on the outreach.