One of the largest towns in Ondo East Local Government in Ondo State, Fagbo, had a sigh of fresh breath over the weekend when the Dr. Rhoda Makinde Initiative (DROMI) medical delegation visited the community for free medical outreach. The medical team was led by the convener a USA based medical doctor Dr. (Mrs) Rhoda Makinde.
One of the core visions of the Initiative is to improve medial access for rural dwellers. DROMI's visit to Fagbo is the first of its kind for an organization to consult and give drugs for free since the existence of the community spanning over a hundred years. The Community Head, Chief Oluwasijibomi Akinola, while speaking with newsmen after benefitting from the intervention noted that he was happy to be alive at this time to witness something uncommon in his community. He said the quality of drugs given at no cost is overwhelming and singled out Dr. Rhoda for leaving her comfort home in the USA to sit under the sun to do checkups and administering drugs at no cost in the remote town of Fagbo.
Another beneficiary Madam Victoria Adeduro thanked the Initiative for the timely intervention on her case which could have resulted in something more damaging if not for DROMI's visit. Her blood pressure was very high, she was given medication and place on admission for proper monitoring for hours.
Dr. Rhoda Makinde said over 300 hundred people were given drugs, majorly women and children. She noted that the outreach is needed to save lives in rural communities because most of them are farmers and exposed to major health hazards. This gesture she said is part of her, having been doing such outreach during her days in the medical school and she is happy to do this anytime the opportunity comes up.
Dr. Rhoda Makinde noted that most of the cases that look bad are cases of high blood pressure. She added that some of them have refused to take their drugs after exhausting them and the Initiative also noticed that they having serious issues accessing such drugs due to non-availability of a good pharmacy store. She said DROMI will make it a duty to do follow up on them and avail medium to have access to their drugs.
