Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
A 16-man team of medical personnel from Ghent, Belgium recently brought succour to many families in Anambra State during a 13-day free medical mission at Enugu-Ukwu General Hospital.
Led by Mr Okechukwu Emeh, a philanthropist and President of Igbo Union, Ghent, Belgium, the exercise attracted several people with different health challenges that were already compounded by inability to afford the medical bills. They were treated free of charge during the exercise.
Emeh, while appraising the success of the medical mission, said the gesture was necessitated by the union’s quest to give back to the society. Members of the group said it was well known that quality medical care was highly needed back home.
He commended the Anambra State government for giving the team a conducive environment to hold the 2019 medical mission in the state.
He said that out of 6, 000 persons that registered to access the medical mission services, only about 2, 000 persons were attended to because of the logistic challenges that members of the team faced with the flight they boarded.
“It grieved our hearts and we will be making a comeback on a medical mission in this hospital in 2020, God willing,” he said.
Dr Paul Van Alkee, one of the medical personnel with the team, said that he was grateful that the medical mission was successful. He attributed the success to the huge assistance from the local medical personnel.
Alkee said that they handled most cases like hernia in over 90 persons. He expressed delight that the medical personnel responded well to the treatment and other medical and surgical issues, adding that medical conditions like lumps, warts and others was not a problem for them to handle.
He said that he had been to other African countries like Ghana, Ethiopia, Madagascar and now Nigeria, adding that Nigerians are very friendly people.
Mrs. Ann Kwulunebe, a midwife who was in the team said that the delay in receiving their luggage and the fact that some luggage was eventually dropped had hindered the mission making it impossible to attend to a good number of the registered persons.
Kwulunebe said that the union was able to attract the assistance of the Revive Vzw, a not-for Profit organisation in Belgium who assisted to provide some of the medical items needed for the medical mission.
She said that most cases they handled ranged from malaria, hernia, infected wounds, prostate, body pains, lymphoma among others. He assured of greater assistance in subsequent missions.
Rev. Sr Sabina Alabuche, an anaesthetists nurse with the hospital who worked with the team said that the team was wonderful, adding that the medical personnel were quite humane in their sact and commitment to the goal of the medical mission.
Alabuche, who is the Head of Department of Anaesthesia of the general hospital, said that the team worked hard for the success of the mission.
“We have had other medical groups come for such missions in the hospital before now but this team was exceptional in all their conducts,” she said
Mrs Josephine Okoye, one of the beneficiaries said that the surgery for a lump in her throat was very successful as there was no pain since she was brought out from the theatre.
Another beneficiary, Mr Christopher Amalu, 58, from the neighbouring town of Nimo, said that lack of financial support had delayed his plan to go for the hernia surgery since 2014.
Amalu said that he heard of the medical mission through a friend and went for registration immediately and was lucky to be among those operated upon.
“I was asked to pay N190, 000 before now for the operation but I was unable to raise the money. But today, I am free from the pain, courtesy of Ghent Belgium Igbo Union. May God bless them,” he said.
Dr Willie Onwuocha, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Enugwu-Ukwu General Hospital commended the Igbo Unio, Ghent Belgium for the successful outing held in the hospital.
He encouraged other Igbo in Diaspora to emulate the Igbo in Belgium. He noted that the traditional rulers and the host community were wonderful as they assisted in information dissemination and ensuring that the right environment needed for a smooth and successful medical mission was on ground.
The CMO commended Chief Clement Nwafor, Chairman, Committee on the Belgium Medical Mission Team, for his support.
He also lauded the state government for making adequate security arrangement for the missionaries all through their stay in the community while the exercise lasted.