The Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, has urged residents to maintain personal and environmental hygiene, describing them as cost-effective measures for preventing diseases and improving quality of life.
Filani also advised residents to undergo regular medical check-ups and seek early treatment rather than wait until they become seriously ill before visiting health facilities.
The commissioner, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Olusola Gbenga-Igotun, spoke in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday while flagging off a three-day Health Awareness and Medical Outreach organised by Optimal Health and Peacemakers Community Development Foundation in collaboration with the Ekiti State Government.
He said that “maintaining a clean environment is a shared responsibility of government, community leaders, health professionals and individuals. While the government has the responsibility to provide infrastructure, sanitation facilities, waste management systems and safe water, community leaders are to mobilise residents to maintain clean surroundings”.
The commissioner encouraged residents to take advantage of the free screening services provided through the outreach, engage with healthcare professionals and follow up appropriately on any health condition detected.
Filani said, “Please check yourself. Don’t wait until you are bedridden before you seek to know your health status”.
The Chief Medical Director, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Prof Kayode Olabanji, said disease prevention remained central to the state government’s health agenda.
Olabanji said reducing preventable infections would help families save on treatment costs, reduce school absenteeism, improve productivity and enable health facilities to devote more resources to specialised care.
The CMD urged residents “to make personal and environmental cleanliness a daily habit by washing your hands properly, keeping your bodies and clothes clean, maintaining hygienic toilets and safe water sources and disposing of waste responsibly”.
He also advised residents to eliminate stagnant water around their homes and ensure that food was properly prepared and protected.
The Chief Executive Officer of Optimal Health, Dr Abraham Hollist, who said his first son was born with sickle cell, said management and a holistic approach to care helped keep him out of hospital during the first five years of his life.
Hollist said his personal experience managing sickle cell disease had inspired his commitment to preventive healthcare and motivated him to apply similar preventive strategies to other chronic conditions, including hypertension, diabetes and stroke.
He urged residents to be proactive about their health by knowing their health status and seeking medical attention early.
One of the beneficiaries, Julianah Ojo, commended the organisers for the intervention, saying it would contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of residents.
The outreach featured health education, free blood sugar and blood pressure screening, eye tests and the distribution of drugs to beneficiaries.
