By Ibrahim Yakubu:
A team of 10 medical experts including dentists has offered free dental care to over 100 Drug addicts and mentally challenged inmates at the Nigga Rehabilitation Centre, Kaduna, North West Nigeria.
The gesture was part of the 2019 World Oral Day activities marked March 20 every year.
The team was headed by Maryam Abubakar, the Managing Director of Fatimah Clinic and founder of a Kaduna based non-governmental organization, Women For Women.
Speaking on the exercise, Maryam Abubakar said oral diseases, such as tooth decay and gum are widespread and preventable through proper self-care, and regular dental check-ups.
She said because the Inmates at the rehabilitation centre do not have the privilege to go out at will, the NGO then decided to take the medical mission to the centre for free dental service as part of its humanitarian services.
“World Oral Health Day is an opportunity to coordinate global and national efforts and to work together to make as much noise as possible on and around 20 March, which is targeted towards educating and enlightening the public on the importance of preventing teeth related diseases”, she explained.
According to her, services rendered to the inmates are scaling, polishing, filling and removal of decayed teeth.
She encouraged the Inmates to take good care of their health in order to live healthy.
“When you are physically fit and free to go home, you should not go back to the lifestyle that brought you to be at the rehabilitation center,” Abubakar said.
Abubakar disclosed that, the team was planning to take World Oral Day campaign to homes of physically challenged persons, to educate them on various ways to protect their teeth against all forms of diseases.
She called on other health related NGO, CSOs, Ministry of Health and institutions to offer free medical services to less privileged persons in the society.
Contributing, Malam Lawal Maduru, the Founder of the Rehabilitation Centre, thanked the organisation for coming to offer free dental services to the inmates.
Maduru said that the celebration of the World Oral Day was very important adding that it emphasises the need to give attention to dental hygiene.
One of the beneficiaries, Aminu Usman, thanked the NGO for recognising them as members of the society and urged them to continue with the good gesture.
