Peter Bassey|21 February 2017
The Medical Students Association of the Cross River State extraction under the umbrella "Cross River Medical Students Association" (CRIMSA) held her free medical outreach on the 17th of February, 2017 with the theme: "Domestic Violence". The event which was held at Ikot Omin, 8 miles Calabar and was sponsored by Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), FHI 360 and others, had Dr. Betta Edu as the guest speaker.
Meanwhile, here are some extract from the event as they occurred:
'What we do in CRIMSA is to carter for the welfare of our members, but we thought it wise to go beyond that and offer other humanitarian services, hence the birth of today's health outreach. This health outreach is a reflection of who we are as medical students.' —Okey Eddie, President, CRIMSA
'We are talking about Domestic Violence as our major theme, although we had different health talks with focus on teenage pregnancy which is mostly attributed to domestic violence.
'Domestic violence do not just refer to physical abuse, but also involve financial abuse, emotional abuse, psychological abuse and all that. And as Cross Riverians we can put a stop to it. We have also come not just to talk to the people of Ikot Omin on the theme, but also wit other incentives like free medical services such as Malaria test and treatment, HIV test and counseling, hepatitis B & C test, blood sugar test and we will also give out long lasting treated insecticide mosquito nets etc.
'Initially we had just a hand full of people here, but as the news spread that we are keeping to our words and that the outreach was totally free of charge, we are experiencing influx of people, right now we are even scared if the manpower and equipment will be enough to manage this crowd, but all the same we bless God. At a point I even felt Dr. Betta wont come, but her presence here has proven that the Cross River State Government under the able leadership of Prof. Sen. Ben Ayade has us at heart. We feel elated and we are thankful.' —Gladys Ebaye, V.P CRIMSA LOC chairperson
'I came here to give support to medical students from Cross River State who are organizing this health outreach. So far, my observation shows that the people have some health challenges. We have done our best to examine them, prescribed and administered treatment and in some cases we have issue referrals.
'This outreach will surely have a great impact on the people of Ikot Omin, this is because service rendered here could have been expensive to afford elsewhere, but for today, it's given to them free of charge. Its more of sorting out for the secondary and tertiary centers. As you can see, the people are happy because it has given them a sense of belonging. They now know that some people out there as well as the government has them at heart. This gestures from CRIMSA is accolade worthy.' —Dr. Echeng Imoke, UCTH
'I have served this association as her treasurer some time ago. I am here to support this outreach because the Cross River state government is interesting in the well being of Cross Riverians.
'The government of Sen. Ben Ayade is saying NO to domestic violence. Violence begets violence, and violence increase insecurity and more violence. It affects human thinking capacity, affect the psychology of a person and makes one inferior. Anyone suffering from domestic violence should speak up.
'There are channels you can report this issues to e.g the social welfare or office of the wife of the governor. The
Ayadecian theory do not and will never support violence of any form.' —Dr. Betta Edu, DG, CRSPHCDA
Peter Bassey
Writes from Calabar
peterenyievi@gmail.co
