From Chuks Moses, Awka
No fewer than eighteen (18) beneficiaries requiring Open Heart surgery, are lined up for this year’s ongoing medical mission of Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation (SEOF).
The surgeries are taking place at the Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital (DIOMH), Oraifite in Ekwusigo Council of Anambra State.
The intervention programme, an annual event since 2021, is the third to involve open heart surgeries and other critical areas of health.
The arrival of DIOMH, a world class cardiology facility, on the scene in May 2022 was a flagship project of SEOF.
So far, thirty-three (33) adults and children have benefitted from the two open heart surgeries programmes sponsored by SEOF in conjunction with America’s VOOM Foundation. It took place at the Oraifite -based DIOMH specialist hospital.
The 2023 edition was scheduled to run from May 14, 2023 to May 26 2023 with highly skilled medical experts in cardiology, nephrology, and critical care from VOOM Foundation (VOOM), College Station, Texas, USA, supporting the necessary interventions.
DIOMH hit a healthcare milestone in Africa when it performed three Open Heart Surgeries in a day and total of 25 Open Heart Surgeries in less than two weeks during May 2022. 23 (or 70%) of these Open Heart Surgeries were performed at no cost to beneficiaries while the remaining 10 (30%) were highly subsidised at just 14% – 20% of the cost charged for those surgeries by Nigerian hospitals. The total bill borne by SEOF for the 33 open heart surgeries in 2022 is in excess of N300million.
In the current Mission, a Community Health Fair will be organised by the Foundation on Wednesday, 24th of May 2023 from 9am to 3pm. The Fair will provide free clinical examinations, treatment and drugs for for diabetes, arthritis, malaria, hypertension, chronic pain, typhoid, and eye care.
Nigeria’s healthcare industry also recorded a big boost in March 2023 following the distribution of critical health intervention drugs worth N48m to medical facilities across the six geo-political zones in the country by SEOF.