The Jigawa chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), on Sunday offered free medical services to no fewer than 200 residents of Hadejia town in Jigawa state.
The exercise was part of the association’s 2024 Physician’s Week, themed: “Kidney Health for All: Unravelling the etiology and ending Chronic Kidney Disease CDK) in Hadejia.”
The association also enlightened the community on Sickle Cell, Diabetes and other health conditions, as well the right use of medications, as well as personal hygiene to prevent communicable diseases.
The Chairman of NMA in the state, Dr Umar Abdulbasid said in Hadejia that the community was chosen for the outreach because of the high prevalence of kidney disease in the area.
Abdulbasid said that the free medical service was targeted at ensuring that people in the rural communities got healthy lifestyle and took precautionary measures on their well-being.
“Today, we provided free consultations for CKD, free drugs, blood testing, BP measurement and body mass test to about 200 people,” Abdulbasid said.
Also, the NMA’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Dr Sa’idu Shamsu, said the campaign was organised in partnership with an NGO, the Future Map Foundation.
Shamsu said that the campaign also included panel discussions and stakeholder engagements, where healthcare professionals deliberated on finding the causes of CKD in Hadejia.
“During the exercise, advanced diagnostic tools, including the AI-powered Digital Kidney Wallet to promote early detection and prevention, were used.
“The association had earlier engaged in health walk and awareness campaign to encourage the public to adopt healthier lifestyle and take proactive steps to reduce the risk of CKD,” Shamsu added.
He said the pioneer campaign was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the state Ministry of Health.
The public secretary urged the public, professionals, students, leaders, and academicians to join the NMA and the NGO as it planed to make the campaign an annual event to unravel the causes of CKD and explore effective solutions.
NAN)
