5,000 Residents To Benefit From Free Health Programme, Insight Impairment Major

A seven-day free health programme offering access to a wide range of quality medical services is currently underway in Bayelsa.

No fewer than 5,000 rural dwellers across Kolokuma/Opokuma and Okordia/Zarama communities of the state are expected to benefit from the free health programme.

The  Vision First Plus community eye care and free medical outreach is organised by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited with support from venture partners.

Others collaborating in the programme are Bayelsa Ministry of Health, Eye Sight Foundation, NNPC Limited, TotalEnergies, and AENR.

Speaking at the flag-off at Kaima Referral Hospital on Friday, Mr. Igo Weli, Vice President, Relations and Sustainable Development at Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, said the programme is aimed at enhancing healthcare services for the people.

“Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and our joint venture partners—Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, TotalEnergies, and Agip Energy and Natural Resources—are proud to support this initiative”, he said.

“This is a seven-day, community-focused initiative that provides comprehensive eye care services to the people of the communities that host Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited projects.

“The Vision First Plus programme is a flagship offering under our Health in Motion initiative, which takes healthcare beyond traditional facilities and into the heart of our communities where people live, learn, and raise their families.

“Among many dimensions of health, vision stands out as both essential and often overlooked. Clear vision affects how we learn, earn a living, participate in society, and experience the world.

“Our goal is not only to prevent avoidable blindness but to preserve the dignity, confidence, and independence that come with the gift of clear vision”, he added.

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With 2.2 billion people living with some form of visual impairment, globally and nearly half of those cases are preventable or treatable, Nigeria also has her share of the number.

He put this at 24 million even as insights from the 30,000 screenings conducted under Health in Motion over the last five years show that over 60% of individuals presented a visual disorder.

This has informed the organisation’s decision to continue investing in preventive healthcare and access to quality services in underserved areas.

“Here in the Niger Delta alone, over 20,000 people have benefited from Vision First programmes,” he added.

Encouraging as many people as possible to make themselves available for the programme, he informed that in the Niger Delta alone, over 20,000 people have benefited from Vision First programmes.