Medical Impact-Sierra Leone (MI-SL), with motto Impacting Lives, Prescribing Hope, on Saturday 23rd November 2024 organized a health talk and screening free of cost for over 100 people at Lombard Street in the Fourah Bay community.
The mainly aged and women were screened for high blood pressure, diabetes and malaria, offered basic malaria, warm and other drugs and referred to the appropriate hospitals and health facilities for further treatment.
One of the Medical Brigade Volunteers informed the people that they would check for high blood pressure and sugar that leads to stroke and other illnesses and highlighted some of the symptoms of high blood pressure (BP) as headache, back pain, dizziness, reduced vision and advised all to check their BP every three days.
For those with diabetes, she advised them not to eat sugar and sweets, eat rice late to prevent indigestion, not to eat rice with too much starch but eat bulgur and ‘fuday’ as well locally-produced vegetables like cucumber with the peel, tomato and avoid eating too much salt.
Malaria tests were also conducted and people advised to take warm medicines every three months.
Mr. Martin Ibrahim Bangura of MI-SL disclosed that the organization is headquartered in Mexico and operates in several countries including Kenya and Columbia and was established by seven members in Sierra Leone while others are volunteers.
Mr. Allie Sesay also of MI-SL recalled that they first came to the Fourah Bay community in July this year to sensitize them on health-related issues and that they work in hard to reach communities and remotes parts of the country.
According to Mr. Sesay, sometimes people are not aware about their health status and advised them not to use the services of quark doctors whom he reiterated are dangerous in addition to selling expired and substandard medicines.
MI-SL sensitizes communities about health issues, poor sanitation, rampant malaria in communities due to poor hygiene and misuse of mosquito nets.
Most of the beneficiaries interviewed commended the organization for the initiative and appealed to government, well-wishers and other NGOs to emulate the sterling example which they stressed would help the poor and aged in depressed communities.
