A medical expert, Dr Olasimbo Davidson has described hypertension as the most prominent ailment in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, saying “almost eight out of every 10 people are hypertensive.”
Davidson, who is the Director of Clinical Services and Quality at Comprehensive Health Center, Totoro in Abeokuta, spoke on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of a free health services for 2,000 ailing residents of the state in partnership with Trinitas Health Care Partners.
She added that malaria, tuberculosis and food poisoning equally constitute rampant diseases among residents of the state.
Davidson described the development as scary, while calling on the government to take urgent steps to address the health challenges.
She said: “We have seen cases of leukemia, especially in children because many of them are untreated. We have a lot of people with non-communicable diseases. Hypertension is one of the most prominent ailments that I have noticed in Abeokuta even more than other areas where I have worked.
“Almost eight out of every ten people here are hypertensive. It is scary and it is something we need to address and we are already working on the strategies to tackle that.
“Of course, we have a lot of water borne diseases, mostly, the water quality in Abeokuta maybe responsible and we have seen a lot of cases of food poisoning as well.
“We have a lot pneumonia in children, respiratory diseases, quite a lot of them are severe and we have been alarmed by increase in tuberculosis which we are noticing here unlike Lagos we hardly see tuberculosis patients in Lagos like we have seen here.
“Within a few weeks of resuming in this hospital, it is a bit worrisome that tuberculosis is back on the rise and we are going to put in some measures to try to identify those who are at risk and try and improve on contact cases and also work with Ogun state government to address this issue,” she said.
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