*The Esteemed Hub Foundation organizes medical outreach for the disabled in the Karamajiji community in Abuja to mark World Humanitarian Day.*
Esteemed Hub Foundation, in collaboration with MedPlus, Hypo Bleach, Colgate toothpaste, and Poweroil, held a medical outreach for persons with disabilities (PWD) in Karamajiji, a community in Nigeria's federal capital Territory, Abuja, to mark this year's World Humanitarian Day on Saturday, August 19th, 2023.
World Humanitarian Day is a campaign by the United Nations (UN), bringing together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being, and dignity of people affected by crises and for the safety and security of aid workers.
On August 19, 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, the General Assembly adopted a resolution designating August 19 as World Humanitarian Day (WHD). The Esteemed Hub medical outreach sought to make health care more accessible to PWDs and other vulnerable people, who suffer greatly from the high cost of living and transportation brought about by the removal of subsidies in Nigeria.
Although the disabled in Nigeria make up at least 15 percent of the population, according to WHO data, they lack access to basic amenities such as health care. For many people with disabilities in Nigeria, medical outreaches are the only contact they have with the health care system, as many barriers prevent them from having access to quality and affordable health care, thereby rendering them vulnerable to diseases and illnesses.
The event, which was held at the LEA primary school in the community, began with a courtesy visit by the Esteem Hub Foundation team to the Chief of People with Disabilities of the FCT, Alhaji, Suleiman Muhamma Katsina, who welcomed members of the association to his palace and thanked them for providing free medical care to members of the community who could not afford it.
From the chief’s palace, the team walked back to LEA primary school, the venue of the outreach, where free medical tests and other medical services were offered to those with serious cases.
At the event, Princess Doosugh Dorathy Agbadu, the Executive Director of Esteemed Hub Foundation, said the outreach was in line with the theme of this year's World Humanitarian Day, which is 'it takes a village'.
She noted that aside from providing healthcare services, the Esteemed Hub Foundation would be giving out food items and other humanitarian aid to ease the burden on PWDs and other vulnerable people in light of the current economic realities.
Doosugh thanked the sponsors and volunteers for their dedication to making the outreach a success. Also at the event, Mohammed Danteni, the Secretary to the Chief of Persons with Disabilities in the FCT, who was also a beneficiary, said outreach is one of the ways the community survives.
He expressed his appreciation to the Esteem Hub Foundation for putting smiles on the faces of the children and parents of his community. A beneficiary of the outreach, Rabiu Mustafa, said the outreach was timely because she could not remember the last time she visited a hospital.
She, however, promised to visit the hospital for further medical check-ups, to follow up on the findings from the test carried out on her at the event. Other activities carried out at the outreach include sharing humanitarian aid, such as free food and clothes.
The Esteemed Hub Foundation team and the participants also planted four trees donated by the Greenway International Foundation with members of the community as part of efforts to protect the environment from the harmful effects of climate change, which affects the disabled disproportionately. Over 200 people in the Karamajiji community benefited from the Esteem Hub Foundation's outreach.
