Dermatologists offer free skin care to Lagos community

By Adeola OgunladeOVER three hundred residents in Makoko area of Lagos have benefited from the free skin care test and consultation organised by Vaseline Healing Project and Direct Relief and Unilever held at the Aiyetoro Health Care Service, Makoko.The event tagged Dermatology Clinic Outreach to Makoko Community started in the early hours of last Saturday as women and children thronged the health centre after a two-day training organised for 270 public healthcare workers in Lagos State on dermatology treatment at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos.Speaking at the event, the convener of the event, Dr. Akinkugbe Ayesha, said that the outreach was part of our wiliness as dermatologists to educate and support people, especially in rural communities, on how to take care of their skin and avoid the use of steroid as it complicates issues on the skins.She said: We as dermatologists are always looking for opportunity to reach out because in the teaching hospitals, we are not seeing and reaching everyone, especially people living in blighted communities where they go through water-borne diseases which have grave implication on their skins.She added that it is not about giving vaseline and free drugs to the residents in Makoko but we also trained medical doctors and pharmacists because they are the ones the community members go to and rather than admit the use of steroid and other unhealthy practices over skin problem, we correct them on best practices needed to serve the community better.She stated further that there is a referral system with the training so that they know when to refer to them when there are critical cases.It is sad that every year, we are losing doctors across board. We, on our part, Have given out our expertise in the last decade so that public health officials can help in attending to minor skin problems, she said.In his words, the local government chairman, Kayode Omiyale, lauded the effort of the organisers and said that whoever has done this has helped humanity.It is sad that some people cannot take care of their health with as little as N1, 000, which is as a result of the level of poverty plaguing our society, Omiyale said.Speaking with one of the recipients of the outreach, a civil servant, Aisha Lasisi, who came with her children, expressed her gratitude to the organisers of the programme, which, according to her, is a first of its kind in the area.
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