Lagos launches 11-day free medical mission across six communities

The Lagos State Government and diaspora organisation Eko Club International have launched an 11-day free medical mission running from November 14 to 24, taking free consultations, check-ups and medicines into six communities across the state. According to Nigerian media reports, the mission is coordinated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health, with volunteer health workers from Nigeria and abroad taking part. (File photo: a blood-pressure screening at a community health outreach in a Lagos market.)

What the mission offers

The mission provides free medical consultations, diagnostic screenings, dental services, vision assessments, medicines and selected specialist treatments. Screening covers cataracts, cervical cancer, prostate-specific antigen testing, hepatitis B and malaria, while specialist screening also covers cataracts and limb and spinal conditions; patients needing further care are referred for treatment, including surgery.

Six communities on the schedule

Community outreach begins at 9:00 a.m. each day, starting in Idimu on November 15, followed by Epe on November 16, Amuwo-Odofin on November 17 and Apa in Badagry on November 18, with Ikorodu and Lagos Island also on the schedule. Organisers say bringing services into communities means residents do not have to travel to a major hospital to be seen.

A 19-year tradition

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, said the programme reflects the value of sustained collaboration between the state government and diaspora organisations. Eko Club International, made up of Lagosians living in the United States, London and Canada, has run its medical mission since 2007 — 19 years of health interventions in Lagos; the 2024 mission reached more than 6,000 residents.