The Lagos State Government says it is targeting 250, 000 cases of visually impaired and hearing defects among residents in the 4th edition of the BOSKOH HMI Medical Outreach.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated this at the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu/Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat (BOSKOH) Health Mission International (HMI) Medical Outreach tagged “JigiBola Relaunch, held on Thursday at Police College, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to him, over 250,000 Lagos residents in eight Local Government Areas Community Sites, eight Market Sites and eight Police Barracks are to benefit from this year’s edition of the programme.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, said that there was the need to ensure optimal healthcare that cuts across age-divide in society.
“Health as we all know is wealth, and only healthy people make a healthy nation; this, underscores the importance of healthy living in any society.
“We must look after our health and every part of our bodies hence the need to relaunch the Jigi-Bola Initiative in conjunction with BOSKOH HMI.
“The massive impact recorded during the introduction of this initiative and the joy of residents in Lagos State who benefitted from the Jigi-Bola Initiative under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Governor of Lagos State saved several lives from preventable blindness.
“The initiative restored beneficiaries back to their livelihood, and this justifies our decision to keep it on after the initial relaunch in 2019,” the governor explained.
Sanwo-Olu assured that his administration had made enough provisions to carry out free sight and hearing aid screening exercises on residents across the state in order to ensure that residents do not lose their vision and hearing organs when it could have been prevented.
He said through the BOSKOH HMI, his administration had continued to lead the frontiers in delivering good healthcare.
“We have taken a bold step of broadening the scope of the mission to include other health provisions beyond the provision of visual and hearing aids programme to cater for the need of Lagos residents whose health needs do not fall within visual and hearing impairments.
“Vision and hearing difficulties before they become impaired can be prevented with early detection, care and other medical interventions.
The governor, therefore, reassured of his administration’s commitment to improving the well-being and welfare of the people through the BOSKOH HMI.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Lagos State First Lady, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, said the Jigi-Bola Initiative through the BOSKOH HMI was designed to strengthen the state’s capacity for efficient eye-care delivery at the grassroots.
According to her, the initiative will continue to be a legacy that would help reduce visual impairment to the barest, especially among the Lagos residents.
She explained that different medical professionals would engage the people in order to identify citizens who needed visual aids by screening eligible patients for prescription glasses.
She, therefore, urged residents, especially those suffering from visual impairments to take advantage of the Jigi-Bola Initiative to improve their health.
Dr Sanwo-Olu stated that a large number of cases of visual impairment could have been prevented if they were detected early and treated effectively.
In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, BOSKOH HMI, Mrs Nike Osa, said that the initiative had recorded significant milestones since its inception in 2019.
Osa said the initiative had continued to render free medical and humanitarian services to citizens in the state.
She noted that the focus of the initiative was to ensure that people who are unable to afford medical care got free treatment through its immediate intervention.
Osa disclosed that the free medical services and screening would be extended to Police Barracks and markets in the state starting from now till the end of August.
