The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed, has said over 3,615,000 Nigerians benefitted from the scheme’s Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) since inception in 2014.
Ahmed revealed this during the inauguration of the first quarter 2024 special HIRD/mobile healthcare intervention programme held at Gosa-Sarki community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He said the initiative reached out to people by sensitising them on causes and prevention of diseases, treatment of ailments and referrals.
“Our target is to reach at least 500,000 additional beneficiaries this year,” he said.
The director-general said the initiative is the platform through which the NYSC catered for the health needs of people in rural communities, who have little or no access to quality healthcare.
According to him, the scheme is deploying resources at its disposal to complement the federal government’s efforts toward achieving Universal Health Coverage as part of its social welfare programmes.
The Director, Community Development Service and Special Projects, Hajiya Zainab Isah, said the inauguration signaled official commencement of the 2024 medical outreaches, which would be conducted nationwide.
She said state secretariats of the scheme would take the health services to several communities at various times within the year.