2024 JoyNews Impact Makers Award winner for Health and Social Welfare, Samuel Nana-Bekai Djirackor, has led a six-day health outreach that provided free healthcare services to 1,447 residents in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

Through the Haven of Love Children’s Foundation, which he founded and leads as CEO, the initiative took healthcare services to five communities: Sakote, Nangodi, Logre, Gundoug/Woredaa and Pelungu.

The outreach was sponsored by the Member of Parliament for Nabdam, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane.

Residents received free eye screening, blood pressure and diabetes checks, general medical consultations, as well as NHIS registration and renewal.

In all, 1,447 people underwent eye screening, while 1,504 had their blood pressure checked. Another 985 people received general medical consultations, with 628 screened for diabetes.

The exercise also provided support to 88 Persons with Disabilities, while 199 clients were booked for eye and cataract surgery. For Patience Dunpau B, the outreach offered an opportunity to receive medical attention without the financial burden.

After hearing about the free screening, the Lowry resident attended with her mother. She underwent an eye screening, consulted a doctor and received medication.

“I have been able to do the eye screening. I’ve been able to visit the doctor for advice and free medication,” she said.

Ms Patience expressed gratitude to the organisers, noting that access to free medication and medical advice was particularly valuable.

“I want to say a very big thank you to the organisers of this. We are really very grateful for it because it’s not easy to get medication for free and even advice,” she said.

But she believes the work is far from over. According to Patience, many residents could not take part in the exercise and would benefit from another outreach. “We hope that you revisit us to treat us because we are many and all of us are not here,” she added.

Health professionals identify eye problems

The outreach also provided health professionals with an opportunity to identify eye conditions among residents. Optometrist at the Regional Hospital, Daniel Mensah, was part of the healthcare team that supported the exercise.

He observed that some residents had little knowledge about their eye conditions and had come to regard the problems as normal.

“Most of them are having complicated eye issues, and it was like most of them don’t have any knowledge of what is happening to their eyes,” he said.

He explained that some residents had become accustomed to their symptoms and did not consider them serious.

“Some of them see it to be a normal thing,” Daniel said. The healthcare team subsequently educated residents on measures to protect their eyes and maintain good eye health. Among the elderly, the team also identified cataract cases.

Daniel said some of these cases had resulted in partial blindness. “Some of them have cataracts, and as a result of that, it has resulted in partial blindness,” he said. Residents identified with cataracts were booked for surgery, with the hope of improving their sight.

Taking healthcare closer to communities

For Samuel Nana-Bekai Djirackor, the outreach is part of the Haven of Love Children’s Foundation’s efforts to bring healthcare closer to communities that may face challenges accessing medical services.

The initiative brought together health professionals and other partners to provide services across the five communities. The foundation says it remains open to partnerships with individuals, Members of Parliament, ministers, churches, Muslim groups and other organisations committed to improving access to healthcare.

For residents such as Patience, the impact goes beyond the statistics. It means an eye problem that might have been ignored was examined, a cataract was identified, and a patient was booked for surgery.

And for 1,447 residents of Nabdam, the six-day outreach brought healthcare a little closer to home.