Foundation distributes food items, drugs to elderly, malnourished children

An NGO, Hope for the Village Child, on Tuesday distributed food items and drugs to 195 elderly persons and malnourished children in Joga, a countryside in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.

The food items included rice, beans, maize, milk, tombrown (a diet containing liver, soya beans, groundnut and sugar meant for malnourished children).

The drugs distributed were antimalarial and tuberculosis.

Our correspondent reports that the foundation had on March 24, screened 297 people in the community for malaria and tuberculosis, where two people who tested positive were given medication.

Samples of the families of those who tested positive to tuberculosis were also taken for screening during the exercise.

Speaking to our correspondent, the Deputy Director of the foundation, Sister Juliana Ekwoanya, said the drugs and food items were meant to lessen the hardship faced by members of the community in terms of easy access to drugs and healthy food, especially for the malnourished children.

Ekwoanya urged them to ensure the practice of good hygiene at all times saying that TB and malaria spread fast in unhygienic environment.

She also urged them to sleep in well ventilated rooms, to reduce the rate of transmission in the community while calling on those who noticed symptoms especially through coughs, to go for proper diagnosis.

Appreciating the foundation for the gesture, the Village Head of Joga, Malam Musa Aminu, thanked the members for choosing his community for the outreach.

He appealed to governments and other well meaning Nigerians to help in addressing their challenges of bad roads and absence of other social amenities.

Our correspondent reports that the women in the community were lectured on best hygiene practices and ways to avoid malnutrition among their children.