The United States chapter of the Ibadan Descendants Union, IDU, has said that Adeoyo State Hospital, Ibadan, will benefit from the N50m it budgeted for various projects in the Oyo State capital.
While handing over the Ward 1 of the hospital, which was recently renovated by the association, the president of the union, Laja Akintayo, told the representatives of the Oyo State Government and the Chairman of the Oyo State Hospitals Board, Dr Adegoke Adeyemo, that the body had established an Ibadan Initiative Project for the purpose of developing the health sector in the city.
Also at the event was the President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, Chief Yemi Soladoye, and the hospital management team.
The Punch quoted Akintayo as noting that there were records of people dying of manageable and treatable ailments because they did not have access to medical facilities.
Stressing that the union had decided to partner some health organisations in the US with the aim of bringing basic health care system closer to the people, he said, “We have initiated an action plan, which we are using to reach Ibadan land and other towns. The Ibadan Initiative Project of IDU is working to take care of three core areas. They are education, health and community development. This is just the starting point of our health intervention, although it is not the first project that IDU will be executing at the Adeoyo State Hospital.
“The IIP will in the next nine months spend N50m on various projects in Ibadan. We are working closely with the CCII to provide healthcare to our people. People are dying of ailments, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, that are supposed to be manageable. This is the kind of health awareness that we are going to provide. We are partnering some organisations in the US to make this happen.”
He said the union had already sunk a borehole to boost water supply in the ward and promised that it would sink more for the hospital’s use.
“We are adopting the Ward 1 by taking care of the facility in it, maintaining the ward and providing other needs of the ward that could arise as time goes on. We have also provided a borehole to supply water to the ward and other buildings within the hospital.”
“Many do not know that at 40, it is important for a man to do Prostate Specific Antigen scan. Some of our women are suffering from breast cancer unnecessarily. If they had access to adequate healthcare and the right equipment, their lives would be saved before the cancer gets to a dangerous level. We will still do more with the management of this hospital. Government cannot do this alone and that is why organisations and individuals that have the wherewithal should partner government to bring adequate healthcare to our people,” he said.
