Youth group screens 100 indigents on genotype, hepatitis in Kwara

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

The Young and Gifted Youth Development Initiative, (YGYDI) on Monday organised a free community health outreach for residents of Ajangbadi community in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 100 residents benefited from the medical outreach, including free genotype testing for children, hepatitis screening for adults and blood pressure test.

Speaking during the outreach, the Programme Coordinator, Miss Oluwaseyi Ogbonlaye, said the intervention was aimed at bringing basic healthcare services closer to underserved and rural populations.

She explained that the programme is an inaugural community wellness outreach to Ajangbadi, which is a hard-to-reach, rural community with a lot of poor people who cannot afford hospital bills or travel to town for tests.

“We are able to have specialised care like genotype testing for children. It’s one of the most important thing I’m so excited about.

“The basics of health and anything related to health has to be with adequate information, which will help to make better decisions.

“It will help in making decisions as regards blood transfusion, marriage and also the kind of drugs to take. It is important to to have these informations.

“We realised that many parents do not know their children’s genotype and many adults have never been screened for hepatitis. Early detection can save lives and prevent complication,” she said.

Ogbonlaye said that the organisation also used the opportunity to counsel participants on hygiene, nutrition, and preventive healthcare.

She described the initiative as a conglomerate of young people dedicated towards contributing positively to communities in the country.

Also speaking, A Volunteer with YGYDI, Miss Aminat Saliu, explained that the adults were screened for Hepatitis B, blood pressure and other ailments.

She emphasised on the importance of early screening, while describing Hepatitis B as viral infection that attacks the iver.

According to her, people living in rural environment may find it difficult to easily access such healthcare and that this is the motive of the initiative in bringing healthcare closer to the community.

A Medical Labouratory Scientist, Miss Saidat Hassan, disclosed that the result of the tests indicates that the members of the community showed negative for the disease.

She, however, advised on the importance of regular screening and also warn people to avoid some dangerous practices that can expose them to hepatitis.

Some of the beneficiaries of the outreach in the community, Mr Bolaji Nasir and Mr Ahmed Olarewaju expressed appreciation to the group.

Mrs Ruqayat Abdulazeez, a representative of the community head also commended the initiative, adding that the community has many elderly people who find it difficult to access healthcare due to age and financial constraints. (NAN)