The two-day outreach offered screenings, medicines and Lagos health insurance enrolment to residents at no cost

Nearly 400 residents benefited from free medical screening, medicines and health insurance enrolment during a two-day medical outreach organised by General Hospital, Somolu, in Lagos, in partnership with government agencies and healthcare charities.

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The Somolu medical outreach, which recently moved from the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, to General Hospital, Somolu, was designed to make basic preventive healthcare more accessible while helping residents identify potentially serious conditions early.

Beneficiaries were screened for hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, prostate cancer and malaria.

The programme also provided mental health screening and counselling, medication for those who required treatment, and support with enrolment in the Lagos State Health Management Agency, LASHMA, health insurance scheme.

The collaboration brought together the Lagos State Ministry of Health, LASHMA, Global Health Charity and Training Foundation, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, DBA Comprehensive Health Charity and Capacity Health Foundation.

Declaring the programme open on behalf of the Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of General Hospital, Somolu, Adesina Ayodele, the hospital’s Deputy Medical Director, Nathaniel Oja, described the intervention as significant because of the number of services residents could access without paying.

Ayodele thanked the participating organisations, medical personnel and volunteers for supporting the programme.

“Health is a basic human right for everyone, but prevention is better than cure,” he said.

The organisers said the screening component was particularly important because several of the conditions assessed can develop without obvious symptoms in their early stages.

Rather than limiting the intervention to immediate complaints, the organisers sought to give residents a broader picture of their health and encourage them to seek appropriate care when potential risks were identified.

For beneficiaries requiring further attention, the hospital encouraged continued engagement with the formal healthcare system.

Ayodele urged residents who needed additional treatment to return to General Hospital, Somolu, for follow-up, assuring them that the facility would provide further care within its capacity.

The lead partner, Adebayo Akintobi of the Global Health Charity and Training Foundation, also encouraged beneficiaries to take full advantage of the medical personnel available during the outreach.

Akintobi urged participants to discuss their concerns openly with doctors and seek clarification about their screening results before leaving the facility.

He said the foundation was interested in extending its partnership with the hospital as part of wider efforts to improve access to healthcare in Lagos.

The inclusion of LASHMA enrolment added another layer to the intervention.

Beyond the immediate benefits of free consultations and medicines, eligible residents could be connected to a health insurance programme that may support access to care after the outreach ended.

The approach reflects a growing emphasis on preventive healthcare, early detection and financial protection as ways of reducing the burden of avoidable illness.

For residents who might otherwise postpone routine checks because of cost, the outreach provided a valuable opportunity to identify health concerns and receive professional guidance without an upfront financial barrier.

The collaboration also highlighted the role that partnerships between public hospitals, government agencies and charitable organisations can play in extending healthcare services to communities.

While the two-day programme offered immediate support to nearly 400 people, its longer-term impact will depend partly on whether beneficiaries with identified health risks continue with recommended treatment and follow-up care.

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For General Hospital, Somolu, the intervention was therefore not presented simply as a one-off medical exercise, but as a powerful opportunity to encourage residents towards prevention, early diagnosis and sustained engagement with healthcare services.