SYNLAB Nigeria, healthcare services provider, held its 10th ‘Doctors on Air’ Medical Mission in Ilupeju, Lagos, on August 17, 2019. The medical outreach, organised in partnership with other healthcare providers and foundations, is an annual event designed to give back to society.
At the event, SYNLAB and its partners (Bridge Clinic, Chike Okoli Foundation, Euracare Hospital, Lakeshore Cancer Centre, Healthplus, Medicentre, etc) provided a wide range of healthcare services including breast and cervical cancer screening, blood sugar checks, dental care, hepatitis screening, eye screening, skin care related treatments, blood pressure checks, cardiology services, among other treatments to residents of Ilupeju at the Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area, LCDA.
Fidson Healthcare plc and Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited supported SYNLAB by providing drugs for different forms of ailments.
Speaking about the exercise, Pamela Jackson-Ajayi, managing director, SYNLAB Nigeria, said the Mission was informed by the need to provide Nigerians, especially the low-income earners, access to quality medical services at no cost.
She said the Mission started in Obalende and had been extended to other parts of Lagos such as Yaba, Bariga and Alimosho.
Ajayi, who is also the host of ‘Doctors on Air’ radio programme, stated: “Here, we focus on secondary prevention which is, trying to detect a disease at the very early stage to prevent it from showing up and giving complications”. She said that SYNLAB is using this free medical programme to provide specialised healthcare to Nigerians. The medical outreach is an offshoot of the Doctors on Air programme that airs on Classic fm and Naija FM, which, according to her, are SYNLAB’s media partners in its drive to enlighten Nigerians on key health issues.
Tolulope Adewole, executive director, operations, SYNLAB Nigeria, said as a socially responsible organisation SYNLAB was consistently seeking ways to impact lives, saying, “…working with the Ilupeju local government authorities, we have all sorts of medical specialists offering a broad range of medical services to improve the health of those that have come out to partake in this exercise”.
In response, the chairman of Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye LCDA, Rassaq Ajala, lauded SYNLAB for bringing its free medical screening to Ilupeju, while urging other well-meaning organisations to take a cue from its footsteps.
Ajala stated that initiatives like this should be encouraged, adding that the government cannot do it all. In his words: “The government cannot do it all. We need initiatives like this to complement government efforts at improving the health of Nigerians”.
One of the beneficiaries, Sarah Obieri, who commended SYNLAB for its yearly medical exercise, implored other public-spirited organisations to emulate the healthcare provider, saying, “As you can see, I’ve been tested and these are my drugs. May God strengthen SYNLAB Nigeria.”
Over the years, SYNLAB Nigeria, formerly known as Pathcare Laboratories, has been delivering high quality diagnostic services to Nigerians and has continued to show strong commitment to the communities where it operates, through its life impacting initiatives.
