LAPO Improves Health Conditions of 1.1m Community Members

Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) improved the health and social conditions of 1,112,145 target community members across the country between January and June of 2023.

A total of 78,939 persons were reached through direct community intervention by LAPO health workers while 1,033,206 persons were reached through mass sensitization and media campaigns.  

According to Dr. Honestus Ayobami Obadiora, Executive Director, the beneficiaries were mostly clients of LAPO Microfinance Bank in Edo, Kogi, Enugu, Rivers, Zamfara, Lagos and Abuja.

They were sensitized on the necessity of antenatal care, immunization, nutrition, family planning, water, sanitation and hygiene and equally screened for health conditions such as blood pressure, hepatitis, malaria and blood sugar level, towards improving their health status and general well-being.

Dr. Obadiora identified some challenges inhibiting the health care system in Nigeria including a dearth of trained medical and paramedical personnel due to brain drain and the inefficient utilization of services provided by the government.  

“More than 85% of the populace resides in the rural areas where medical facilities and coverage are far from adequate. As a consequence, the maternal and infant mortality rates for Nigeria as a whole remain very high. Again, the persistently high disease burden in the country fuelled by poverty, insufficient sanitary arrangements, poor health care standards, and low public concern over health and medicine continue to contribute largely to the non-satisfactory performance of the health sector,” he said. 

He however expressed optimism that with the involvement and support of all stakeholders in health awareness creation and provision of medical facilities, the narratives of poor health care standards and high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria would change.

Dr. Obadiora encouraged members of the public to imbibe the culture of timely medical intervention and regular checkups to facilitate detection and management of health conditions, adding that routine health screening and awareness creation by LAPO has contributed significantly to the well-being of community members.