Prof. Ozumba Organizes Free Medical Outreach Ahead of Valedictory Lecture

It was with joy that residents of the Edem-Ani community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State received free medical services during a free medical outreach organized and sponsored by Professor Benjamin Ozumba, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka as part of the activities to mark his retirement from the public service.

This took place on Saturday, 16th March, 2024 at ugbogidi and ozalla community hospital, Edem-Ani, Nsukka.

Free medical services such as eye care with eyeglasses, dental care, screening tests for diabetes, hypertension checks, free consultations by various medical experts, minor surgeries and free drugs were administered to the participants who partook in the outreach. The medical team included surgeons, dentists, oculists, pharmacists, dieticians, and nurses from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu.

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Speaking with Myschoolnews TV, Ozumba expressed his appreciation and stated that affordable and accessible medical services are necessary, especially for indigent communities. "I am very fulfilled today to see what is happening. The outreach is an outpouring of goodwill for everybody around. Specifically, I am moved to give a voice to the voiceless through initiatives like this. I expect that there would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that the sick would be healed, the needy would receive help and so on, so I would expect a massive success. As regards the sponsorship, there have been selfless contributions, whoever has, gives and we expect a positive outcome", Ozumba said.

The Nutritionist in charge of the event, Miss Chinelo exposed the participants to the importance of eating a balanced diet and cautioned them against unhealthy food mixtures popular among rural dwellers.


The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee for the Outreach, Prof. Chidi Nzeadibe revealed that the entire planning process has been demanding but successful. In his words,
"The planning of this event has been tough, we started as a committee in October last year, and he (Ozumba) constituted a committee and approached me to help him anchor this and we brought in a couple of individuals and also had a series of meetings on weekly basis and most time he is always available to sit in and make his contributions to chart the direction where the whole event would go. So it had been tough in the sense that he needed a lot of thinking and talking and moving around taking contacts and reaching out to people to support the programme but so far it has been good."

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Additionally, the medical doctor in charge of the community hospital, Dr Abagwu disclosed to Myschoolnews that different medical issues have been prevalent in the community, especially from the elderly hence the free medical center which was built in the community to address the health issues.
"For the first time in my medical practice, I would meet a community where everything is completely free and it has made us overwhelmed because people are trooping in from different parts of the community to receive medical services...
What we see most of the time here, particularly on the side of the elderly are cases like hypertension and diabetes but generally, it is still the cases of malaria that top the list in the Edem-Ani community", said Abagwu.

Further, a consultant physician and coordinator of the outreach, Dr. Onyebueka Godwin emphasised their keen interest in catering to a wide demographic, particularly focusing on the underserved, such as those in rural areas where access to quality healthcare is scarce.  Assuring that there will be provision for post-surgical care provided by the healthcare workers, they anticipate that hypertensive and diabetic patients will visit later in the year to receive their medications.

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Participants also expressed their delight in the level of professionalism exhibited by the healthcare practitioners. A beneficiary, Ugwuanyi Michael, who was operated upon disclosed to Myschoolnews that he had been experiencing pains from dislocations but is grateful to Prof. Ozumba for the free medical services that helped him treat his condition.
"I thank God for today's surgeries. Over five months ago, the ailment started in my back but three days ago, I came to a hotel nearby and they told me that I would go for surgery here on Saturday. I thank God for the man that organized this free outreach and I pray God should bless him for doing so. I was operated upon on my back and the injury resulted from an accident. I feel better now after the operation and I thank God for everything ", he expressed.