The Christian Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria (CMDA Nigeria), at the weekend held a free medical outreach to residents of Gosa in Abuja Municipal Council Area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and its environs.
A second phase of the outreach, involving surgical care, will hold next week between 24th-26th June, 2022, in the same community.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Christian Medical and Dental Association Of Nigeria (CMDA Nigeria), Prof. Chima Onoka, similar outreaches were ongoing at its branches nationwide.
He added: “It was a joy to behold as the Christian Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria, in partnership with the Fellowship of Christian Nurses, Christian Pharmacists Fellowship of Nigeria, Christian Medical Laboratory Professionals of Nigeria, Healthcare Christian Fellowship (HCF), and the Fellowship of Christian Nurses, partnered to reach over 2,500 people in Gosa and its environs, along Airport Road Abuja.
“The free medical outreach is one part of the Wholeness Missions to Gosa which also includes a surgical component.
“The outreach was carried out as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of CMDA Nigeria which is an umbrella body of Christian Doctors and Dentists as well as medical and dental students.
“The outreach was supported by well-meaning Nigerians and several organisations including Churches, Non-Governmental Organisations, hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories, as well as media teams from CBN Africa. It was such a blessing for CMDA Nigeria, along with the partners and collaborators, to bring hope and healing to a community with lots of needs in line with its vision of “caring for the whole man: spirit, soul and body.”
“The outreach was a clear demonstration of the capacity of Christian health workers including doctors, dentists, dental assistants, laboratory professionals, nurses, pharmacists, and optometrists, students, interpreters and so many non-medical volunteers, to plan and deliver healthcare as a team, even in complex settings. This is in line with our vision that a new Nigeria is being birthed, where health workers will be known for working harmoniously, purposefully, and effectively to deliver healthcare as well as to transform the health system.”
Asked on ground in Gosa, by reporters, if the outreach was meant only for Christians, Prof. Onoka said: “No, no no! We have seen everybody. We have seen atheists. We have seen people that are traditional worshippers. We have seen Christians. We have seen Muslims. But the message is the same. We are here to bring healing. But not just healing but also hope. And transformation in a holistic way.
“It is not just medical care. There is medical care. There is health counseling. And people are receiving all sorts of treatments free of charge. Not just people from this community but all its environs.”
A former leader of CMDA and the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, one of the supporters of the event, Dr. Paul Enenche, and his wife, Dr. Mrs. Becky Paul-Enenche, both medical doctors, visited and attended to some of the patients.
Dr. Paul Enenche, told journalists that Dunamis is working with the CMDA to relieve afflictions in the spirit, soul, and body.
His words: “As you can see, there are various health care services going on here.
“Children are being attended to by pediatricians, obstetricians and gynaecologists are here, retroviral screening for HIV and other infectious diseases are going on. Hepatitis B vaccines are being administered, physicians are attending to adults, dentists, ophthalmologists, ear, nose and throat surgeons are also on ground attending to people irrespective of religion. Surgeries are being scheduled, all free of charge.”
