Calabar —The ongoing free specialist medical outreach in Calabar would have been severely disrupted if it had been scheduled to hold in a government health facility, the Cross River representative on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Rt. Hon. Orok Otu Duke, has revealed NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
Speaking at the Calabar Women and Children Hospital on Tuesday during an inspection of the intervention programme, Duke said the choice of venue became crucial after resident doctors across government hospitals embarked on an industrial action.
According to him, the NDDC would have “run into the trap of the strike” if it attempted to use any state-owned medical facility for the outreach, which is currently serving hundreds of residents with free specialist care.
“We are very grateful that you offered this facility,” he said, addressing the hospital management. “We would have run into this trap of strike if we had gone to a government facility. All the resident doctors are on strike. They have been here before… but this time we would have been bypassed.”
Duke praised the Calabar Women and Children Hospital for consistently supporting humanitarian health missions, noting that the NDDC has had a longstanding relationship with the facility dating back more than three decades.
“They don’t know we have been here since 1990,” he added. “Any time we have outreach programmes, they come and go, but this place has always opened its doors for us. We are happy the relationship is continuing and getting stronger.”
The NDDC commissioner also commended Mrs. Onari Duke, wife of former Governor Donald Duke, for her sustained involvement in community-based health support, describing her leadership in medical outreach initiatives as “unprecedented.”
He explained that the ongoing intervention is the first of two medical outreaches planned in Cross River state before the end of the year, adding that a second outreach is slated for the St. Joseph area.
Duke reiterated that the NDDC’s health interventions are designed to complement — not compete with — state and federal government programmes.
“At no time will NDDC be in competition with anybody,” he said. “We work under the Presidency and always bring in things to augment and support what the government in the state is doing.”
He assured that the Commission remains committed to collaborating with credible partners to extend specialist medical care to underserved communities in Cross River.
Onari Duke pledged her continued partnership with well-meaning individuals and organizations in the areas of health, saying it is the best way to go.
The ongoing programme, which opened earlier today, is jointly supported by the Renewed Hope Initiative, ECEWS, CSDON and the Cross River State health apparatus. Residents are benefiting from free surgeries, consultations, screenings and other specialist medical services at no cost.
