By Folasade Akpan
The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Muhammad Fadah unveiled the Health Initiative For Rural Dwellers (HIRD) programme in the Dakwo Community of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
.
Fadah said the initiative was in line with the cardinal point of his administration’s policy thrust to deepen the NYSC’s impact on rural development services.
According to him, the HIRD was conceived over eight years ago as a platform for the scheme to contribute towards the provision of easy access to healthcare for rural dwellers.
This, he said, was implemented through medical outreaches conducted across the nooks and crannies of the country by Corps Medical personnel.
He added that the success of HIRD in the last eight years had been quite unprecedented while calling on members of Dakwo Community to come out in large numbers and benefit at no cost.
Fadah thanked stakeholders for their contributions and donation of drugs and other materials for the outreach while.
He, however called on them to do more so that other communities in the interior parts could also benefit as the NYSC remained resolute in its quest to make positive impact.
In his address, the NYSC FCT Coordinator, Alhaji Abdul Suleiman, thanked the corps medical personnel for their selfless services to humanity as well as the people of Dakwo commuinity for opening up their community for the outreach.
Suleiman said the sustainability of HIRD was non-negotiable as the scheme placed premium on rural development.
In an address, the Sarkin Dakwo Commuinity, Django Bangi thanked the NYSC for choosing his community for the outreach and prayed for the continued sustenance of the scheme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that HIRD is characterised by medical diagnosis, treatments, referrals, as well as community sensitisation on disease prevention and management.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NYSC launched the initiative in 2014.
The corps said over two million rural dwellers have benefited from the HIRD. (NAN)
