NAF conducts medical outreach for IDPs in Damboa

The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has commenced a two-week medical outreach for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), in Maiduguri and Damboa Local Government Areas of Borno.

The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice-Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

He said that the outreach’s theme which is “Alleviating the Medical/Surgical Needs of IDPs in Maiduguri and Damboa”, involved surgical interventions for those with complicated and critical health challenges.

Adesanya quoted the leader of the NAF Medical Outreach Team, Group Capt. Azubuike Chukwuka, as saying that the programme was at the instance of the Chief of the Air staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to assuage the sufferings of the IDPs.

Chukwuka also the Director of Public Health and Humanitarian Services at NAF Headquarters’, said the outreach was also for enhancing civil military relations, as part of ‘winning the hearts and minds’ strategy of the NAF.

“NAF Medical Outreach Team has conducted a total of 71 eye surgeries and 31 general surgeries on IDPs in Maiduguri and Damboa since the commencement of the exercise on Feb.13.

“The medical team at Damboa had carried out 32 eye surgeries while 10 general surgeries have been conducted on IDPs after screening 682 of them who had various eye-related ailments.

“In addition, the NAF Medical Outreach Team has so far provided free medical treatment to 590 IDPs at Damboa alone.

“Therefore, a total of 1,272 IDPs have been successfully attended to in Damboa, while more are expected to benefit from the NAF humanitarian intervention scheme, which is still ongoing,” he said.

The spokesman said that NAF had carried out such free medical interventions in all geo-political zones of the country.

“NAF recently conducted a free medical intervention at Enugu, Bakassi and Makurdi. The outreach is expected to end on March 1,” he said.