By Precious Oham
The Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has conducted medical outreach and distributed free drugs to drivers in the State.
No fewer than 100 members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Ekiti State Branch, benefitted from the medical outreach, which held at the Ekiti Ultra Modern Bus Terminal in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.
Speaking at the event, the State Chapter Chairman of NMA, Dr Babatunde Rosiji said the exercise is part of activities marking the association’s 27th Annual General Meeting.
He said that the medical outreach is the association’s corporate social responsibility adding that free medical services, distribution of free medical consumables and free laboratory tests were carried out during the outreach.
He noted that the medical outreach to the drivers is in line with the theme of the 27th AGM tagged: “The Burden of Sudden Death Among the Young: What Needs to be Learned and Unlearned” aimed at ensuring that the drivers are healthy to carry out their duties.
His words: “As a responsible association, during this period of the year as a form of corporate social responsibility, we carry our services free of charge, medical consumables free of charge and free laboratory tests to communities and groups.
“This is to help them detect medical problems on time so they can seek proper care as much as possible. As many conditions we are detecting here, we treat them and those that will need further treatment, will be sent to other hospitals. This is our way of giving back to the society.
“We do this now and then. We have scheduled activities during our Annual General Meetings and physician week every April and October of every year. We usually have such programs and also during our Annual General Meeting. We do this at least three times a year as a way of giving back to the society.
“Many times the drivers are often forgotten because people see them as always rendering service and they are receiving money for that. Things like that go on but we know that when our drivers are unhealthy many times they find it difficult to seek help on time because they are always on the road.
“As much as possible, those special characteristics endear them to us and also in recent times we must have heard of issues relating to death among the young people which the bulk of the NURTW and RTEAN fall into.
“The theme for our Annual General Meeting this year is “The Burden of Sudden Death Among the Young: What Needs to be Learned and Unlearned.” They fall within that demographic and we think that if we come to them as least we can identify those conditions that can kill people early and help them to seek treatment.
“If they are healthy we won’t have cases of drivers dying on the steering while driving.”
In an interview, some of the members of the driver’Uninions commended Ekiti NMA for the opportunity and promised to make use of the drugs given to them to improve their health.
