In a dedication to improve the health and well-being of his people, the Nkanu West Local Government administration of Hon. Uchenna Callistus Ejim, in collaboration with the Enugu State chapter of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapists, NSP, and with support from the Student Union of and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and the University of Nigeria Medical Rehabilitation Students Association (MERSA), Department of Physiotherapy, organized a one day free public health outreach aimed at reducing the menace of Osteoarthritis and other inflammatory Arthritis among the people of Nkanu West Local Government.

The public health outreach which benefited over 850 indigenes of the local government, especially the poor, elderly, downtrodden and aged, took place at the Local Council Secretariat, Agbani, to mark the celebration of World Physiotherapy Day on Friday, September 8, 2023.

The outreach offered free education and sensitization on causes, symptoms, treatments and practices to reduce the menace and pain of arthritis through early detection and early management, basic assessment of vital signs which include assessment of blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory system, arthritis treatment for patients with symptoms and complaints which include free physical therapy session and free medication. 

A beneficiary of the outreach, Mrs Esther Ogbodo expressed profound gratitude and deep appreciations to Hon. Uchenna Ejim, the NSP and MERSA for the heartwarming gesture. 

"I'm happy, very happy for this kind of gesture to offer Physiotherapy treatment and medication including free food to us the aging population of the society. 

"May God bless the chairman and the organizers for remembering the health needs of the aged and elderly. It's not easy to assemble elderly ones and attend to their health needs free of charge." 

She testified that she felt a lot better after receiving treatment and medication. 

She also called on the Government to keep up the good work stating that, "A Lot of deaths have occurred due to lack of access to medical services either because of insufficient funds or unavailability of medical services here in the rural communities."

Speaking to Pacesetter, the Chairperson of NSP, Dr. Mrs Chimereze Ngozika, who is also the Deputy Director of Physiotherapy at ESUT Teaching Hospital said the outreach was an opportunity to give back to the community and improve the health status of the elderly and aged who might not have access to physiotherapy treatment and medication. 

According to her the outreach was organized in Nkanu West LGA out of the need to reach a wide audience in the rural communities where there's little or no access to physiotherapy facilities, and also as a result of the council chairman's strong determination to address the medical needs of the citizens. 

"Arthritis is a debilitating condition which comes with a lot of pains. It affects and destabilizes a person's functional level, the wearing away of the joint surfaces could lead to stiffness of joints and difficulty in mobility", she said.

She called on the Enugu State Government to include physiotherapy as a Primary Health Care Service to the people, as it will help people especially the aged in the rural areas gain access to physiotherapy treatments even in their community health centers and cottage hospitals. 

The President of University of Nigeria Medical Rehabilitation Students Association (UMERSA), Department of Physiotherapy, Mr. Gabriel Nwafor further explained the importance of physiotherapy in health care, the society at large and particularly for arthritis patients.

"Physiotherapy plays a major role in arthritis because an arthritic patient will always come down with pain, joint stiffness, loss of function to a particular joint on a particular limb. Physiotherapy helps patients manage pain, reduce joint stiffness and helps with joint mobility".

The council chairman, Hon. Uchenna Ejim, while briefing Pacesetter, expressed his unending commitment to meeting the health needs of the people and how the World Physiotherapy Day has given him the opportunity to attend to this particular health need. 

"I'm aware of the medical needs of the medical needs of my people as it concerns bones, limbs and joints and I have taken advantage of the celebration of the World Physiotherapy Day to give back to society, because this is beneficial to our parents and aged ones to live a better life even as they age in grace.

"It is a burning passion for me to see our people succeed especially in terms of health and well-being. Because our parents in the rural areas are predominantly farmers and their mesns of livelihood may not afford them the wherewithal to access basic medical needs, as a government closest to the grassroot, we intend to run this partnership programme quarterly", Ejim noted. 

He went further to announce plans and strategies his administration is putting in place to increase awareness on early detection and management of osteoarthritis, record the long term impact of the public health outreach on the aged population and to grant continuous access to these Physiotherapy treatment and services in the future.