With 1,717 beneficiaries reached in two days, the Foundation targets 5,000 people in a five-day medical and surgical intervention amid rising healthcare costs
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| From left: Sowari Akosionu, Chairperson, Subcommittee on Partnerships and Communications, Ubomi; Dr Iko Ibanga, Executive Director, ProHealth; Mrs Doyin Femi-Johnson, Board Secretary, Pistis Foundation; Pastor Godman Akinlabi, Founder and Board Chairman, Pistis Foundation; Leonard F. Thomas, Executive Director, Pistis Foundation; Dr Hakeem Badmus, Executive Director, HTS; and Mrs Isimemen Preye, Project Manager, Ubomi, during the five-day medical and surgical outreach in partnership with Pro-Health International, held in Lagos recently. |
By Admin
For Jumoke Ishua, the difference between receiving medical care and going without it was life changing. After living with a large fibroid for 11 years, she finally underwent surgery during Pistis Foundation’s inaugural medical outreach in 2019. Seven years later, she is healthy, a grandmother and back at the programme, this time as a volunteer helping others access the care that changed her life.
Her journey from patient to volunteer captures the impact Pistis Foundation says it hopes to achieve through its free medical and surgical outreaches: not merely treating illnesses, but restoring independence, easing the burden on families and empowering beneficiaries to help others.
As the foundation began its latest five-day medical and surgical intervention tagged “UBOMI 2026 Lagos” in partnership with Pro-Health International, it set a target of reaching 5,000 beneficiaries and delivering 10,000 medical interventions.
The numbers from the first two days offered an early indication of the demand. A total of 1,717 unique beneficiaries received care, with 5,161 medical interventions delivered. These included 57 eye surgeries and 48 operating-room surgeries, while activities continued.
The outreach provides medical consultations, diagnostic services, general surgery, gynaecological care and other treatments based on patients’ needs and available expertise, those requiring specialised care beyond the scope of the programme are referred to partner facilities for further treatment.
For many beneficiaries, the intervention
offers relief from medical conditions they might otherwise struggle to afford
treatment for, as rising healthcare costs continue to put essential services
beyond the reach of many Nigerian households.
Founder and Board Chair of Pistis Foundation, Godman Akinlabi, said the economic situation had pushed more people into a position where they could no longer afford quality healthcare.
“With the situation in our country, many more people are now falling into the category of people who can no longer access quality medical care because they can no longer afford it. Our efforts are like a drop in the ocean., we believe there are many more organisations, churches, mosques, businesses, government institutions and non-governmental organisations that are doing the work as well,” he said.
Akinlabi said the consequences of illness often extend beyond the patient, particularly when the person responsible for supporting a household becomes unable to work.
“When the breadwinner in the family is under any form of medical situation that incapacitates them from being able to earn in a meaningful way, it affects everyone in the family, so one intervention here goes a long way because it affects many lives,” he remarked.He stressed that access to the outreach was open to people who needed care, without payment or personal connections.
“Everybody here don't have to know anybody, they just show up. You don't have to pay anybody, you don't have to pay anything, just show up,” he said.
Since the programme began in 2019, Pistis Foundation said it has reached more than 22,811 unique beneficiaries through free healthcare services delivered with volunteer medical professionals, hospitals and donors. The current programme is its third medical and surgical intervention this year.
The foundation’s partnership with Pro-Health International has been central to delivering the interventions. The collaboration for seven years, brings medical professionals together to provide services in underserved communities.
Dr Iko Ibanga, a technical partner of Pro-Health International, said the organisation had conducted short-term medical missions for 35 years, mobilising doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
“The problem was founded with the understanding that there are good people who are willing to volunteer their time, service and skills, so every doctor you meet here, every nurse, every pharmacist, everyone is doing this free of charge. They're not being paid, they're not being given any stipends, so it's an act of service to humanity and God.”
Ibanga noted that while the medical professionals donated their expertise, funding remained essential to organise the missions and provide treatment. Pistis Foundation provides financial support for the intervention, complementing the volunteers’ contribution.
He also emphasised that the programme was not
designed as a one-off encounter with patients. Those requiring further
treatment can be referred to partner hospitals, while arrangements are made to
support follow-up care and access to prescribed medication.
“We do not do what you call touch and go,” Ibanga said. “Every patient who actually comes to us, we are looking after them one week after, one month after, two months after.”
While the immediate priority remains reaching more people with free treatment, Pistis Foundation is also seeking ways to make its healthcare interventions sustainable.
Its plans include attracting more donors, pursuing grants and corporate social responsibility funding, recruiting additional volunteers and reducing its reliance on borrowed hospital facilities. The foundation also hopes to begin construction of its own healthcare facility to expand its capacity and reach more communities.
The organisation acknowledged that it could not depend indefinitely on the financial support of the Elevation Church, which initially supported its work, it is therefore exploring broader partnerships and dedicated funding arrangements for its long-term projects.
The ambition is to build a system that combines sustainable funding, medical expertise, infrastructure and community partnerships rather than relying solely on periodic outreaches.
For beneficiaries such as Jumoke, however,
the value of the programme is already tangible. The surgery that helped her
regain her health has become part of a larger story: one in which a former
patient returns to help others find the same opportunity.
As the latest outreach continues towards its target of 5,000 beneficiaries, Pistis Foundation says its immediate mission is to ensure that people who cannot afford treatment are not left without care.
