Report on the 8th Chike Okoli Week Held On Tuesday
September, 2015
29th -
Wednesday
30th of
The 8th Edition of Chike Okoli Foundation week was organized with the support of Dangote
Foundation to mark the World Heart Day. The primary aim of the program is

To encourage individuals to take responsibility of their own heart health
•
To provide free Cardiovascular screening services.
•
Awareness creation on the risk associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
•
Ways to avoid the main risk factors are associated with CVD
The targets reached were over 3,000 persons that participated during the event at the two (2)
markets areas in Lagos State, which includes Computer Village Market in Ikeja, and Kairo Market,
Oshodi in Lagos Mainland were the beneficiaries for the Chike Okoli Week 2015. The awareness
program was designed for 2-days; 29th -30th September 2015.
On the 29th of September, The first day of the program held at Computer Village Market, Ikeja, a
wide range of people were reached. There was a health talk by a cardiologist from LUTH that
enlightened them on risk of cardiovascular problems and why they need to live a healthy life. Then
the Medical checks on Cholesterol Test, Blood Sugar Test, Blood Pressure Test, and Body Mass
Index Calculations commenced. The event flyer and COF Information Health Series were given out
to people who came out and participated in the program. We had also a large number of Market
men and women coming out in large number and queuing up waiting for their turn for the checks.
In order to monitor and evaluate the activities of the event, a spread medical sheet was designed to
put down the result of all tests received from beneficiaries for data analysis.
As a result of the program, a lot of people became aware of cardiovascular disease. During the
checks, people discovered with abnormal results for the various tests. Participants were seen with
high blood pressures as high as 203. People had abnormal high blood sugar level and they didn’t
know if they had a disease. This people were appropriately counseled and referred for more expert
management.
Day 2, Wednesday 30th Kairo Market Oshodi: Lagos State
We continued with the exercise at Kairo –Market. The Medical personnel from the Lagos State
Teaching Hospital were in attendance to render assistance. We had the largest turnout of
participants from the Kairo market, Oshodi.
More people were also enlightened and they became better aware of the effect of their lifestyle and
the functioning of their hearts. Those with abnormal parameter were also counseled and referred for
more specialized care. We had 3 print media personal during the event from Guardian, Vanguard
that came to cover the event. The number of people that attended the program on the second day
was large compared to the first day. Also a lot of them came with the expectation to getting free
drugs, but we could not provide.
We were warmly welcomed to the Market. The 8th COF week was very successful with tremendous
achievement in pursuance of promoting healthy living.
They look forward to the occurrence of the program again, but we however faced some challenges
in the programme.
In summary, the event was well planned and very successful. We strongly believe that moving at
this rate we will get to the realization of our goal. The programme was a huge success.
Observation:
•
It was noted that only a few of the beneficiaries have prior knowledge of cardiovascular disease
and its risk factors.
•
It was also observed that some of the participants were at risk of High Blood Pressure, Blood
Sugar whom the medical team gave referrals
Recommendations:

There is a strong need for support from Government to put in more efforts on public health
clinics and hospitals, to assist the masses who cannot afford some of this medical care on their
own.

Also there is need for collaboration with corporate bodies, health related organizations, to
support the vision of Chike Okoli Foundation to protect and enhance the health of the masses
through community outreaches.