The Gwaram Local Government Council in Jigawa State has treated over 5,000 patients with mental illnesses, eye conditions, and other ailments in three rounds of medical outreach in the local government area.
The local government council chairman, Professor Salim Abdurraman, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with our reporter in the state. He said over 350 people with psychiatric cases received free medical treatment and routine follow-up drugs.
Professor Salim Abdurraman, who is also the chairman of the Jigawa State Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), explained that there were concerns about reports of mentally ill cases by some individuals, which were attributed to the harmattan period.
According to him, “To that regard, we announced that any family and community that has a psychiatric patient should report to the respective councillor, where we registered 350 patients across the area.”
“The local council engaged psychiatric specialists, brought them, and stationed them at Dingaya town, where all the patients engaged with the psychiatric specialists, were examined and treated. We also provided follow-up drugs, while a few with serious cases were admitted to a psychiatric hospital for medical attention.”
He said the medical outreach exercise was conducted three times within his 100 days in office, addressing different ailments commonly affecting the people in the area, which cost the local government council over N30 million.
Professor Salim maintained that “in the area of eye treatment, over 5,000 people benefited from the gesture during the three medical outreach exercises.”
“The first exercise was conducted in October, a few days after my assumption of office, where over 2,000 eye patients were treated. During the exercise, minor surgeries were carried out on deserving patients, which cost us over N10 million, and their sight was restored.”
The ALGON chairman noted that “over N9.7 million was expended during the second exercise, where over 750 eye patients attended, and 196 people underwent surgery. The third round of the exercise was held at Fagam and Tsangarwa towns, where 1,229 eye patients received medication, 210 received impaired glasses, and N5,000 each for transport back to their respective destinations.”
He expressed gratitude to the governor, Malam Umar Namadi, and his government for their support and encouragement to conduct their duties freely, “more importantly, his non-interference in local government administration and its finances.”
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