NGO launches medical outreach for 5,200 women, children in Niger

An NGO, D-8 Health and Social Protection Programme (D-8 HSP), has launched free medical outreach for 5,200 women and children in Niger.

Dr Ado Muhammad, Global Director of HSP, disclosed this at the launching of the 2024 medical mission and outreach in Minna on Friday.

The theme of the 2024 medical outreach was ‘Enhancing Community Health for Resilience in Niger, Kano, FCT, Enugu, Osun and Bauchi States’.

Muhammad said activities at the outreach were disease control, maternal health, providing nutritional needs for pregnant women, HIV/AIDS testing and counselling.

“This medical outreach is to provide services to support Bago-led administration in area of reform targeted at addressing malnutrition and deepening of universal health coverage,” he said.

The director said services such as hypertension, blood sugar checks, HIV, malaria testing, family planning and distribution of vitamin A supplements and deworming drugs would be provided.

Muhammad disclosed that the outreach was targeting 4,000 under-five children that would be administered vitamin A, Zinc/ORS, micronutrient powder and deworming drugs.

He added that 1,200 pregnant women would be administered multi-micronutrient supplements in the state.

Muhammad said the organisation also donated 400 delivery kits and bed sheets to Neonatal hospital to support the state’s maternal child health programme of the Gov. Umar Bago-led administration.

In his remarks, Dr Aminu Magaji, Managing Director of Neonatal Hospital in Minna, represented by Aliyu Chapa, described the outreach as timely and commended D-8 HSP for the intervention.

In his speech, Dr Ibrahim Dangana, Ministry forPrimary Healthcare Development Agency, thanked the organisation for the medical intervention and donations of medical items to support women and children.

Dangana, represented by Dr Abdullahi Imam, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, lauded the efforts of the state governor in addressing challenges in the health sector such as recruiting health workers and infrastructure development.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that D-8 HSP was established in 2018 to support member states to improve health services and uplift living standards of citizens by eliminating hunger, poverty and diseases in accordance with the UN SDGs 1, 2, and 3.