Rotary Family Health Days, a Plus to the People
Zainab Tanimu
Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria
Rotary Family Health Days’ is a yearly health programme set aside to touch life.
It is a programme that provides free medical services to the less privileged and takes place simultaneously across the nation.
The District Coordinator, for District 9125 Nigeria, Rotary Family Health Days’, (RFHD’s), Grace Sadiku speaking with Zainab Tanimu of Newsreservoir at Angwan shanu Primary Health Center,(PHC) gave a brief on some of the activities.
Excerpts.
“The family health days activities have been ongoing in the districts and the state as a whole for the past eleven years.
“Today is ‘day one’ of the rotary family health day and as you can see, we are already overwhelmed with the turn out of people that come to assess these services we are providing for them today.
The medical services she explained is for three days at different locations.
The activities includes, polio vaccination, HIV test, hepatitis screening, deworming, malaria test among others.
Educating the women on the importance of hygiene, she advised them to always keep their bodies and environments clean so as not to be exposed to diseases.
Also, she warned against using sharp objects in cleaning their ears for it can be harmful to the eardrum. Once in a while she advised, people should go for eye checkup.
To maintain fitness, she urged the people to cultivate the habit of engaging in exercise. “You could use the opportunity to after subhi prayer ( early morning prayer) take a brief walk as a form of exercise. She advised the men.
Rotarian Grace, sharing the good news that awaits young girls in Kaduna state disclosed that there is plan on the pipeline to provide free cervical cancer test for children between the ages of 14 – 18.
Cervical cancer is cancer that starts in the cells of the cervix. The cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (womb)
Regular screenings, is advisable.
“We will be having free cervical cancer test in the state for children within the ages of 14 – 18yrs across the state. And they will be vaccinated for protection.
The programme she informed is sponsored by Bill Milinda Gates Foundation and Rotary club in collaboration with Federal and states Ministries of health.
As for the challenges,
“We want the state to collaborate with us more as you can see we have an overwhelming crowd.
We want them to embrace this programme as their programme and ensure that we have facilities opened at the time we want them.
The overwhelming situation notwithstanding, we are pleading that people come out emmass to embrace this programme.”
In response to whether they do experience drug shortage during the exercise, she has this to say.
“The essence of this programme is for people to know their health status. For cases whereby they need more attention, we collaborate with the state and they use the general hospital to attend to them.
This time around we are very concern about the disease polio. We want polio to be eradicated.
According to her, their target for Kaduna state is ten thousand people coverage during the exercise.
Speaking, the Director of Disease, Control and immunization, Kaduna Primary Health Care Board, Hamza Ibrahim Ikira who was at the Angwan Shanu primary health center to assess the programme described the turn out as encouraging.
“This programme tagged Rotary Family Days which is in collaboration with Kaduna state primary health care board and Kaduna state ministry of health serves as intervention for the good people of Kaduna state which we hope to sustain.
From what l am seeing, l will say there are no much challenges because we can see how people accept and come out emmass to assess services. All the same, we are appealing that more people come out to benefit from the health care services being provided.
“I must say, we appreciate Rotary for the good job they are doing.”
Also speaking, President Rotary club of Kaduna Queens/ Rotary club Kawo, Aishatu Yahya Gusau, said, they are organizing the family health care with the Sunshine rotary club of Kawo.
“The outreach is so overwhelming, you know a lot of people are sick looking for medicine all over the place. This is a very good means of getting across to the people at the grassroot level by giving them assistance in terms of medication.
As to activities under her purview as president, she explained.
“We have a lot of activities under health. We distribute sanitary towels to young girls, we give health talk, to be able to take care of themselves and family.
We talk to them about malaria, test them, give them malaria drugs.
As part of the programme today, they have been given treated mosquitos net for use against mosquito.
They are given lecture on hygiene which is very important. You can see majority of the people here are women. They are charge with the responsibility of taking care of the family and have to keep their environment clean too.
The president noted that some men are lagging in their responsibilities.
She charged them to be supportive for things to work out well.
“We told the men that they have to be there for the women. Giving them support in controlling the children. That has been what we have been emphasizing.
Aishatu Gusau also emphasized the need for balance diet.
We know you cannot tell everybody to buy meat and fish. But one can supplement. Soya beans is very nutritious in protein. You can also supplement with vegetable.
For the beneficiaries of the programme, it was a relief especially at this trying period to be offered an opportunity to assess medical attention. According to Mrs. Fatima, with the economy biting hard, many families cannot afford the means to go to hospital to seek medical care.
” I thank Rotary Family for treating us well. We are given free drugs. We appreciate the sponsors and l am calling on people to come out and be part of the exercise.
Mallam Aliyu expressing satisfaction commended rotary family for their gesture, praying that God enrich them so as to be able to render more assistance to the less privileged and vulnerable in the society.
“I thank Rotary Family for the services. May God continue to enrich them. Before now l have been disturbed but after conducting the tests, l feel good because all the tests conducted indicate that l don’t have any serious problem and l have been given some drugs.
Honestly, l now feel at peace.
As part of the programme, there was distribution of sanitary pad to the girls.
Some pregnant women went home with treated mosquito nets courtesy of the programme.
For the elderly, tooth brush and sachet toothpaste were to them while the children including some adults went home with pack of deworming tablets.
The exercise was that of free medical services and extension of goodwill.
The three days exercise came to a close today, 18th, April, 2024.
Day 1 PHC Angwan shanu
Day 2 PHC Magajin Gari
Day 3 PHC General Hospital, Sabo
