COVID-19: OHAI Recruits 300 Volunteers

By Lami Akilah

Oral Health Advocacy Initiative (OHAI) says it has recruited 300 college graduates in the wake of lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of Coronavirus also known as Covid-19.

The Executive Director of OHAI, Dr. Ngutor Ver-or who disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent said the volunteers have been trained as Community Mobilisation Officers and are currently posted to work in rural areas nationwide.

Dr Ver-or explained that as health workers who swore the hippocratic oath to save lives at all times, it was incumbent on them to find solutions to lingering health challenges rather than shy away from the task for fear of contracting a disease especially as many health workers have tested positive of Covid-19 and many have absconded.

“OHAI has absorbed 300 college graduates in its fold during this lockdown. The volunteers are persons who have either lost their jobs as a result of the shock in the economy or persons who have passion for humanity.

“The volunteers who cut across various disciplines have been trained as community health mobilisation officers and dispatched to the local areas to mobilise cleft patients. They have equally been trained on COVID-19 preventive protocols.

To ensure that the adequate awareness is created amongst the rural population about COVID-19, Dr. Ver-or disclosed that OHAI has produced information and educational materials for distribution especially as its focus is more on the hard to reach population of the country.

“You know that our method of health care delivery is basically outreach. We target the difficult to reach patients who reside mostly in the hinterlands. So, as our volunteers go about their work in the rural communities, we ensure that they have adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for themselves, patients and relatives of the patients”, the OHAI boss stated.

He further hinted that the organisation has within the period of the pandemic carried out over 250 cleft surgeries in Bauchi, Niger and Yobe states in the coming weeks.

Recall that the OHAI has carried out over 4000 cleft surgeries in Nigeria with the support of the Federal and state governments through the ministries of health, Smile Train among others.