By Amara Agha Abakaliki
The Equi-Resp Africa Research Project has commenced free screening and treatment of respiratory diseases for workers and operators at the Abakaliki Rice Mill Limited, Ebonyi State.
The intervention is being carried out in partnership with David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu (DUFUHS) and in collaboration with the Institute of Child Health, a unit of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA). The team has concluded arrangements to provide free treatment and medication for the first 200 patients diagnosed with respiratory diseases during the exercise.
Flagging off the programme at the rice mill on Tuesday, the Vice Chancellor of DUFUHS and Team Lead of the project, Professor Jesse Uneke, said the initiative was designed to protect the health of workers whose activities contribute significantly to the state and national economy.
He described the Abakaliki rice mill as a major economic asset to Nigeria, noting that its operators and workers should not be neglected in healthcare planning.
“There is hardly any part of the country where you do not hear about Abakaliki rice. The men and women working here play a vital role in feeding the nation. Their health is very important, and that is why we have come to carry out this intervention,” Uneke said.
According to him, the outreach includes respiratory screening, health education and free treatment for those diagnosed with ailments. He stated that while thousands of people work within the mill cluster, medications have been secured for the first 200 confirmed respiratory patients.
Uneke further disclosed that the project is also monitoring air quality within the rice mill environment to determine pollution levels and associated health risks. He explained that the data generated would provide scientific evidence to guide government policies tailored to the peculiar challenges of the rice mill industry.
“If you say a place is polluted without data, it becomes difficult to design effective policies. Our air quality monitoring will help us quantify the level of pollution and assess the risks involved. This evidence will support context-specific interventions,” he added.
Also speaking, Director of the Institute of Child Health, AE-FUTHA, Professor Techla Ezeonu, said the outreach was aimed at ensuring equitable access to healthcare for the rice mill community, many of whom have suffered one form of respiratory illness or another.
She noted that the team deployed spirometry machines to assess lung function and identify individuals with respiratory impairments, adding that free medications were made available for those diagnosed.
The outreach featured health talks, screening exercises, air quality assessment and distribution of drugs, all geared towards improving occupational health and overall wellbeing within the Abakaliki rice mill cluster.
