No fewer than 500 residents have benefited from a free medical screening organised by Rotary Clubs in Osun State in partnership with the Osun Health Insurance Agency (OHIS) and the Rasaq Akindele Foundation, with about 150 people expected to undergo free surgeries.
The three-day medical outreach, which commenced on Monday, October 12, 2026, at Platinum Embassy Specialist Hospital, along Owode-Ede Road, is designed to provide free eye and dental treatment to residents who cannot afford the cost of medical care.
Speaking at the flag-off of the programme, the Coordinator of Rotary Health Outreach 2026, Rtn. (Dr.) Rasaq Akindele, said the initiative was conceived after visits to eye and dental clinics and correctional facilities exposed the difficulties faced by people living with untreated medical conditions.
Akindele said the organisers encountered mothers struggling with poor eyesight, fathers unable to chew properly because of severe dental decay, and young people gradually losing their sight due to their inability to pay for treatment.
He said, “We saw pain, we saw tears, we saw hopelessness. And as Rotarians, we could not walk away. That encounter gave birth to this project.”
According to him, more than 300 people with eye defects and over 200 people with dental problems had been screened before the commencement of the treatment programme.
He disclosed that all those found to require surgery would receive the procedures free of charge, adding that the organisers had also put in place a post-treatment and follow-up plan to monitor the recovery of beneficiaries.
Akindele said the outreach was not limited to medical treatment, as the organisers would also visit correctional centres in the state to distribute reusable sanitary pads to female inmates as part of efforts to promote menstrual hygiene and human dignity.
Akindele, who is the Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Agency, said the screening exercise attracted participants from different states, including 10 people from Lagos, two from Kwara, while the remaining beneficiaries were from Osun State, according to figures provided by the organisers.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to Governor Ademola Adeleke on Public Health, Dr. Adekunle Akindele, who represented the governor, commended the Rotary Clubs, OHIS and the Rasaq Akindele Foundation for their intervention.
He said the partnership demonstrated how government agencies, philanthropic organisations and service groups could work together to improve access to healthcare, particularly for vulnerable residents.
“Every resident of Osun State deserves the opportunity to live a healthy and productive life,” he said, adding that the state government remained committed to reducing financial barriers to essential medical services.
The governor’s aide listed the renovation and upgrading of more than 200 primary healthcare centres, the provision of essential facilities and the Imole Medical Outreach among the initiatives through which the administration had sought to improve healthcare delivery.
He also said the state government’s reported figures showed that nearly 80,000 residents had benefited from the Imole Medical Outreach.
The programme is being implemented by the Rotary Club of Agbale Ede, Rotary Club of Osogbo Central, Rotary Club of Osogbo GRA, Rotary Club of Oroki Osogbo, Rotary Club of Osogbo Metropolitan and Rotary Club of Osogbo Sunrise.
The organisers called on corporate organisations, government agencies and well-meaning Nigerians to support similar interventions aimed at improving access to healthcare and restoring hope to underserved communities.
