The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kwara Chapter, has offered free medical care and drugs to over 400 indigents in Fufu, Ilorin South Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Adejuwon Otelaja, the state PSN Chairman, speaking on the sidelines of the free medical healthcare on Tuesday, explained that the event was part of the 2023 Pharmacy week activities.
He said the medical outreach at Fufu, a small agrarian village consisting largely of farmers and herders, included checking for blood pressure and random blood sugar test.
He observed that during the health intervention, members recorded high blood pressure which was common amongst the people, both male and female, from age 40 years and above.
“Majority of the villagers are aware they have high blood pressure but they are not regular on medications.
“Some attributed their poor adherence to medication to economic reasons, while some were wrongly informed to stop the medication after achieving control.
“Many of them do not know the dangers of uncontrolled blood pressure and some of the villagers have sight defects which the outreach could not cater for,” he said.
Otelaja pointed out that other challenges faced by the communities were inadequate health education, especially on prevention and management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes.
“Although the community is small with low income level, a pharmacy in the community can help bridge the gap in healthcare especially in the availability of essential drugs,” he said.
The PSN chairman urged government to improve the health facility by providing quality health personnel with the capacity to manage the range of health concerns adequately.
He also advocated public enlightenment on NCDs and provision of health insurance would go a long way to improve the healthcare needs of the community.
Otelaja also lamented on the poor road network to the community, adding that repair of the access road would encourage well-meaning groups to do more outreach to the village.
He appealed to stakeholders to also reach out to the community on medical outreach that would focus on eye care for immense benefits to the community.
Dr Grace Medubi, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), said the society observed that the community have shortage of health facilities and health personnel.
Medubi added the society also observed the Primary Health Care (PHC) center was non-functional.
According to her, the community lack access to basic health and medical services in the rural area.
She said the medical outreach was an effort by PSN to fill in the gap in the medical services for the residents of the community by prioritising their health.
Medubi stated that the PSN would look at ways to further improve the health of these communities by helping them to establish Rural Pharmacy premises.
“PSN hopes to reach out to appropriate authority to rehabilitate and restore the Primary Health Care facilities in the communities.
“All these will go a long way in closing the gap, including lack of health personnel, non-availability of essential drugs, health promotion and health education,” she said.
On her part, Mrs Munirat Bello, the state Secretary of the society, described the Pharmacy Week as an annual event to show case how the PSN impacted Nigerian communities.
She said it was the tradition that “we reach out to communities especially those who hardly access healthcare in the suburbs, hence Fufu.’’
The PSN scribe added that over 400 people, including children, adults and elderly people, benefitted from the various services offered during outreach.
Dr Joseph Ole, the Deputy Director of Pharmacy, UITH, listed some of the common diseases to include uncontrolled blood pressure, stomach ulcer, malaria, cough, urinary tract infection, diabetes mellitus and arthritis.
