20/11/2017
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to say welcome back to those of you who traveled to Kebbi State for our latest medical mission. For those who were unable to be there physically, we also appreciate your prayers, your support and all that you do in the background to make sure that we have successful outings. I hope our team mates that are heading to Chile get to their destinations alright as well.
On behalf of the entire Moses Lake Medical Team, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to our host, the Kebbi State Government, under the able leadership of the Executive Governor, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. Governor Bagudu has been known to be a very kind and compassionate individual. He is a progressive Governor who wants the very best for the citizens and the residents of his state. He demonstrated these attitude by coming to our hotel to welcome us, despite the fact that it was late at night. He also paid us several visits at Kalgo Medical Center while we were working. Even though he has a busy schedule, His Excellency still found the time to be with us in the evening when we had a Barbe-Que get-together. To top it all off, the Governor was also at the airport in Abuja to see us off during our departure to the United States. We are very thankful for the generosity of His Excellency.
I would also like to thank the Governor's wife Dr. Zinab Bagudu for inviting us to participate in the annual Cancer Awareness Walk that took place on Saturday the 21st of October, 2017. We also appreciate her visit to the mission site at Kalgo Medical Center during the outreach. Dr. Bagudu also presided over the send-off banquet that we were honored with at the conclusion of the medical mission, and we are so appreciative of her kind words to us. The gifts that were presented to us were also well appreciated.
I would also like to express our gratitude to the Kebbi State Ministry of Health, under the leadership of Honorable Alh. Umar Usman Kambaza. The Permanent Secretary for Health Alhaja Halima Bello Dikko was very instrumental in making sure that everything went accordingly during this outreach. The Chief Medical Director (CMD) Dr. Koko did an awesome job in making sure that all our needs were met, and that the mission was a success, despite the fact that he is relatively new on the job. Dr. Aminu was his usual upbeat individual. He is very energetic, and he did a good job.He also attended to several patients.
This was the first mission that we had the privilege and the opportunity to work with two different entities from Nigeria. It was a blessing to be able to join forces with the participants from the Pro Health International (PHI) and the University College Hospital (UCH) to expand the scope of the outreach. We were able to carry out procedures that we would otherwise have not been able to perform.. Some very good examples are the orthopedic surgeries (amputations) that the UCH contingents performed during the medical mission. The Moses Lake Medical Team appreciates the participation of both PHI and UCH in the outreach, and we look forward to working together again in the nearest future.
Although the final tally has not been done, I can ascertain that we attended to over 23,000 patients during this outreach. We also performed over 400 total surgeries, and we dispensed over 70,000 prescriptions. The laboratory technicians also carried out over 8,000 lab exams. The detailed figures will be made available soon.
Dr. Lateef Olaniyan
