Ekiti State government on Monday flagged off the project 10 million free screening exercise for hypertension and diabetes in the State.
Governor Biodun Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Monisade Afuye flagged off the project in Ado-Ekiti at the flag off of 10 million free screening for hypertension and diabetes and rapid scale up for primary healthcare services in Ekiti State.
In his address, Governor Oyebanji stated that the initiative aligns with the objectives of his administration to improve healthcare delivery to residents of the State.
He disclosed that the target is to conduct free screening on no fewer than 200,000 people in the State adding that the exercise will help to reduce high risks of complication and death.
He said: “The project 10 Million which is a national initiative by the forum of health commissioners in the country to
raise awareness on the increasing prevalence of non-communicable disease particularly hypertension and diabetes is a laudable step which aligns with the objectives of our government to improve health care delivery to our people and enhance their wellbeing.
“We are combining the ‘project 10 Million initiative’ in Ekiti State with an innovative state intervention to rapidly increase demand for primary health care services in Ekiti State which is key to achieving universal health coverage for our people.
“It is a critical part of the effort of my government at ensuring that everyone in Ekiti state irrespective of their location, socio-economic status, gender or creed have access to quality health care in our state.
“This will significantly improve health care outcomes and health care indices as we strive to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDG) in health.
“We hope to conduct free screening for about 200,000 people in Ekiti State for hypertension and diabetes within the week long campaign in 161 screening centres across the state from Monday 28″ October to Sunday 3rd November 2024 with a focus on adult from age 18 years.”
On his part, Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Oyebanji Filani said that the goal is to reach as many people as possible adding that they are also using the opportunity to expand demand generation activity to ensure that many more children have access to U-5 routine immunization services.
He said: “The rationale behind this is the increasing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes across the country, recognizing that 27% of mobility is due to these two illment.
“As part of our very clear approach in solving this, off the back of the resolution that was made at the national council of health here in Ekiti last year November, we decided to flag-off the one week campaign across the country.
“The goal is to reach as many people as possible to ensure that they know their number and they are able to control it. For those whose numbers are not clear, we can refer them appropriately to treatment sites and for us to have this data to help us to make informed decision making.”