Katsina govt., Belgian Mission begin free surgeries, medical treatment
By Zubairu Idris
The Katsina State Government, in collaboration with ‘Revive Belgian Mission’, has launched free surgeries and medical treatment of ailments across the state.
Launching the exercise on Monday in Katsina, Gov. Dikko Radda, said that improving healthcare delivery was one of the priorities of his administration.
Represented by the Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Musa Adamu, the Governor stressed the importance of health, pointing out that “health is life.”
He said that the government would continue to join hands with such international partners to enhance the health of its people to enable them contribute to nation building.
Radda, therefore, thanked the Belgian mission for coming to offer free surgeries and medical treatment of patients across the state.
He further stated that the government had achieved a lot in the health sector, especially in the area of health infrastructure, training and retraining of personnel, and subsidising health services to patients, among others.
Earlier, the General-Manager of the State Hospital Services Management Board, Dr Muhammad Nazir, said that the mission would conduct the free surgeries and medical treatment on patients with hernia, hydrocele, and gynaecology cases, among others.
Nazir said that the government had also offered free treatment for typhoid fever, including surgeries to about 500 patients across the state.
He said that the surgery requires about N45,000 per patient, but was conducted free of charge by the government.
The President of the mission, Dr Herman De Gezalle, said that they would conduct surgeries and dental extraction free of charge to patients during the period.
He thanked the state government for supporting the mission to enhance the health of the people.
Dr. De Gezalle also announced further collaboration with the government in the area of free treatment of cancer, especially breast cancer.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise, which commenced on Monday, would finish on December 14.
The medical mission would each day conduct the free surgeries and treatment for patients from three local government areas until they cover all the 34 local government areas of the state.
The 14 days free medical outreach is holding at the Turai Yar’adua Hospital, Katsina.
