Calabar, Nigeria – A group, Cross Riverians in Diaspora (CRID) has called on residents of the state to remember and take care of their health while they enjoyed the Calabar Carnival and yuletide season.
This was disclosed by the President of CRID, Mr Christopher Lekan, on Monday in Calabar during a free medical outreach organised by the group at the popular Christmas Village in Calabar.
Lekan who said while people were enjoying the carnival and having fun, CRID was focused on their health because it is only a healthy workforce that can increase productivity in the state.
The president who is based in Atlanta Georgia, said, their target was anyone who had access to the Christmas Village where a lot of fun activities were presently ongoing to the Jan. 1.
According to him, “We have partners who work with us to support treatment of those that are found to require further treatment.
“Though we are in the diaspora, we believe in Cross River, so, we are bringing our competencies and contacts together for the development of the state in partnership with the state government,” he said.
On her part, Dr Esu Ezeani, the Secretary of the Healthcare Committee of CRID (HCC) said the outreach became necessary for them to give back to Cross River where they all started from.
Ezeani who is based in Gambia, added that another aim of the outreach was to gather data on the prevalent health challenges in the state, while supporting the government in ensuring a healthier populace.
Similarly, Dr Norbert Mogar, the Physician on Ground noted that their goal was to enhance the health of residents of Cross River using the outreach.
Mogar said in the cause of their screening, they came across people with moderate to severe challenges, adding that, while they provided medication for those with minor ailments, those with critical conditions were referred to our partner.
“We are also using this opportunity to inculcate in residents of the state the attitude of checking their health status and not just waiting until they are sick and almost dying before seeking medical attention,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the outreach involved screening for blood pressure, sugar level, Human Immune Virus (HIV), hepatitis, Body Mass Index (BMI) among others and patients had opportunity for free consultation with doctor.