Date: 2019-09-26

At least 70 per cent of the on-going free eye surgeries and 50 per cent of the overall medical interventions in Ilorin General Hospital have been carried out, with beneficiaries commending the Kwara State government and other sponsors of the exercise for the gesture.

The beneficiaries said the surgeries were made possible with multimillion naira equipment the government newly supplied to the hospital, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU). ADVERTISEMENT The interventions, which began on Monday, are sponsored by the state government in partnership with the Kwara State Association of Nigeria, North America (KSANG) and Sakinah Medical Outreach.

As at Wednesday, nearly 70 of the 100 cataract surgeries had been done while 250 glasses had been given to patients suffering from various eye disorders, according to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Abdulfatai Olokoba. He said additional 300 surgeries were being carried out across specialities of obstetrics and gynaecology, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery and neurosurgical interventions within the week.

Olokoba added that the surgical interventions have led to impressive capacity building within the General Hospital with the supply of more equipment, the opening of new wards and the ICU, which he said would be useful to the state.

Chairman of the Sakinah Medical Outreach and head of the Volunteer Doctors, Dr Salman Yusuf, said they partook in the programme to support Abdulrazaq's efforts to improve basic healthcare delivery in the state. "We are volunteers medical practitioners - Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, laboratory scientists and other supporting staff -decided to support the government to change the fortune of the state in basic healthcare," he said.

Miss Aderemi Olabisi, who had her breast lump removed, admitted that lack of funds had led to the delay in carrying out her surgery. Muhammad Isa, who had a successful hernia surgery, said he had over the last one year been managing the case until the intervention. Isa noted that he heard the information about the medical and surgical missions on radio and seized the opportunity.

"I made several efforts to carry out this surgery with no success because I don't have money. I am very happy with this. They didn't collect any money from me. I want to thank the sponsors of this exercise whether those in Nigeria or the USA," he said.