Indigent patients at Shasha, a Lagos suburb, have been treated free by a care ministry, Paincare Outreach.
They also got drugs and food after consultation with medical experts at the event held at Peculiar People’s Ministry.
No fewer than 2,000 people were screened.
The major ailments diagnosed were anaemia, malaria and high blood pressure.
Others are diabetes mellitus, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhoea, typhoid and pneumococcal disease.
Head, Medical Team, Dr Femi Ajagun, said there was need to promote good health.
He said: “This is what Nigerians need. The rich need to assist the downtrodden more by embarking on such missions.
“We all know that prevention is better than cure but one can only prevent certain ailments if we go into communities and catch the danger signs of these ailments.”
On common diagnosis, Ajagun said, many of the people are suffering from undiagnosed high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid and pneumococcal disease.
Ajagun said inability of the team to find suitable treatment to any disease usually ends in referral to General Hospitals.
“For conditions that are beyond what we can attend to, or need further investigations, we refer to general hospitals, private hospitals or health care centres,” he added.
Ajagun said the health care system of the country need to improve, saying the government and capable individuals need to start doing community health care.
Reports from such community cares can be used to determine the health indices of the area and prompt action can be taken to nip the diseases in the bud.
Ajagun urged individuals to pay more attention to their health as prevention is the key to keep diseases away from them, adding that it would also prevent unnecessary deaths and out-of-pocket expenses.
A beneficiary, Mrs Racheal Bamidele, thanked the organisers for putting smiles on the faces of the poor.
She said the gesture will go a long way to address the issue of health in the community.
An octogenarian, Mr Taiwo Daramola, who also benefitted from the gesture, said the government should do something about the elderly in the country.
He said the welfare of the old and less-privileged should be taken seriously.
“More people, churches and organisations should do things such as this to alleviate the suffering of the people.
Founder of the outreach, Peter Nwosu, said it is not everybody that can afford the cost of treatment for minor ailment, adding that poverty causes diseases and death.
Nwosu said, he couldn’t afford medical care and food as a child, adding that: “I lost my father quite early and my upbringing was tough because my mother had a lot to cope with.
“Most times we couldn’t go to the hospital even when we were very sick because we could not afford the cost.”
Nwosu, who is the Managing Director of Green life Pharmaceuticals, said: “On a particular day, my mother fell ill and it was difficult treating her because we couldn’t afford the medical bills in the hospital. Thereafter, I made a promise to always help the poor.”
Nwosu said hospitals admissions would be less if poverty is nipped in the bud, adding that his team usually prepares for about 3000 people at each outreach.
Nwosu said 14 outreaches have been planned for the year.
“We discovered that some of those who our medical teams refer to general hospitals don’t even have money to go. So we hope to build a hospital where we can attend to some of these aliments. We also hope to plant Churches where we find none to minster to the soul of the people.
“We also plan to set up an old people’s home and a resource centre where old people can meet one another to discuss,” he added.
