Covenant University partners BWI on community medical outreach

… impact 3,000 Ota residents in past outreaches

Covenant University, Ota, in collaboration with Beulah World Initiative (BWI), rolled out “Operation Rescue,” a medical outreach programme targeting vulnerable communities with free healthcare support.

Chichi Ononiwu, the founder and coordinator at BWI, speaking at the event held at Canaanland, Ota, Ogun State, explained that it was aimed at providing healthcare services to the underserved.

“No one should have to choose between their health and their daily bread. The outreach provided a ‘one-stop shop’ for health and wellness impacting hundreds of local residents who lack regular access to such specialised care,” Ononiwu said.

Besides, Ononiwu said that their mission is to be a beacon of hope and a hand of support to rural/suburban communities in the area of health, nutrition and wellness.

“We believe that health is the foundation of a purposeful life. No one should have to choose between their health and their daily bread. That is why we are here to provide these screenings, treatments and items for free.

The services provided at the outreach include: Prostate and breast cancer screenings, Professional medical consultations, testing, and treatments, comprehensive eye tests, treatments and the distribution of reading glasses, de-worming for children and Distribution of food and clothing items alongside essential health talks,” she emphasised.

She urged the community members to take full advantage of every service at the outreach adding that their wellbeing is BWI’s priority.

Emeka Iweala, the centre leader, in his remark, explained that the centre which is a multidisciplinary research group funded under the ACE IMPACT project was established to train African scientists to drive research to reduce the burden of malaria, breast and prostate cancer.

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He disclosed that CApIC-ACE has increased cancer research capacity through training of over 500 postgraduate students and African researchers.

“We have empowered over 3000 members of the Ota and Lagos communities with scientific information to understand malaria, prostate and breast cancer.”

Iweala further disclosed that one of the activities at CApIC-ACE is community outreaches to disseminate research outputs and create awareness on malaria, breast and prostate cancer in order to reduce their burden.

“We also encourage understanding of the most common risk factors, treatment, and prevention of malaria, prostate and breast cancer,” he said.

Moreover, he said the research has helped to reduce malaria, prostate and breast cancer mortality through more effective prevention, detection, and treatment.

“Medical research has identified well-established risk factors for prostate and breast cancer which everyone should be familiar with.

By working to raise awareness about prostate and breast cancer, we can help men and women make more informed decisions about their health, including choices which may help prevent these two cancers.

“I encourage all women and men, especially those at higher risk, to speak with a health care professional to learn how breast and prostate cancer could affect them,” Iweala said.

In addition, he said that awareness and screening programme as ‘Operation Rescue’ affirms the center’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerians have adequate knowledge about prostate and breast cancer and know their status to enable them to prevent it or access proper treatment to save their lives.

“Together, we will continue to work to provide relevant information and support to deal with the diseases and look toward a future free from the scourge of breast and prostate cancer.

“We will also continue to support ground breaking research to better understand breast and prostate cancer especially how best to treat each patient,” he stated.

Iweala disclosed that the centre have been able to impact 3,000 Ota residents in past outreaches in partnership with BWI.

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Tayo George, the immediate past chairman of Covenant University Community Development Impact Initiatives Community (CU-CDIIC) spoke on the need to eat healthy by intentionally eating right, this she said include the inclusion of fruits, vegetables that are readily available and affordable with a balanced diet in the right proportion.

She also pointed to the need to avoid late night heavy meals especially carbohydrates that can trigger high blood sugar, leading to diabetes and related health challenges.

Participants were encouraged to take adequate rest and not less than 7-8hours of sleep daily. The need to avoid intake of excessive sugary substances, salt and seasoning may be replaced with locust bean instead.

She said that this is best for the older citizens adding that the time to make the right choices and decision for a healthy lifestyle is now.

BWI’s mission is to empower less privileged communities through humanitarian and spiritual support, focusing on providing free medical care, food aid, skill acquisition programmes, youth empowerment, and community development projects to foster social transformation and a better quality of life.