Rotary Club of Abuja Imperial on Monday organised a one-day free community medical outreach on disease prevention and treatment for residents of Life Camp in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Dr Gregory Obayomi, a member of the club said that the programme was aimed at sensitising the residents on how to live healthily through balanced diet and nutritious foods.
“The motive is to let the people know that they should take care of themselves and their babies during pregnancy so that they don’t get to the stage of going to the hospital to look for a solution.
“Once you take a balanced diet and nutritious foods, you may not fall sick.
“While you are pregnant, you take the appropriate foods and nutrition so you may not fall sick.
“It is a way of managing ourselves that we don’t incur other expenses, because if you fall sick you have to go to the hospital and the drugs are expensive`.
“All medical things are on the high side in our country.
“So, if you maintain good health through your nutrition and diet you avoid unnecessary expenses on health issues, that is what we are trying to expose them to and by that they would have reduced their expenses on health matters,’’ Obayomi said.
He described most of the foods in Africa as having the basic ingredients needed for human survival.
“If you take some of these things adequately well and in good proportion you may not of course have any issues.
“Especially poor women in the rural setting who are into child bearing, it is important to know what they need to do during pregnancy and after pregnancy to ensure they are in good health and the new baby is also in good health,’’ Obayomi said.
According to him, some of the things people suffer in terms of diseases are things they miss in our diet, adding ” If you don’t eat a balanced diet, if you don’t take nutritious food that may affect your health.
“So, we are trying to see with their condition how they can manage themselves with the basic nutritious foods.
“Most of the foods we have in Africa are foods that have the basic ingredients that you need to survive as a human being and to live healthily not to fall into sickness.
“That is what we are trying to enlighten them about and you can see that they are from the adjoining villages to this area.”
Lilian Akpet, the Executive Director of Rubies Development Foundation, said that the programme was important essentially for women who have the responsibilities of child bearing and upbringing.
“Like we say, health is wealth; so we thought it wise that as the year is winding down we should give back to the society by educating women and children, especially pregnant women in our society on how to take care of themselves and their children.
“This is specifically in the area of nutrition and prevention of disease and how to care for their children.
“We have the Medical Women Association of Nigeria giving us health talk to that effect so that women will be able to take care of their health right from pregnancy to menopause.
“Every stage of a woman’s life needs adequate nutrition particularly when she is pregnant she is feeding for more than one.
“At every stage of a woman’s life it is important that her nutrition is top notch so she will be able to take care of herself and another human being,’’ Akpet said.
