World Customs Day: Over 500 benefit from CGC’s medical outreach
Maureen Aguta
Over 500 people Friday benefitted from the medical outreach organised by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi to celebrate World Customs Organisation (WCO) International Customs Day 2024.
Beneficiaries came from the Nigeria Customs Service, Maritime stakeholders and Residents within the vicinity of the Nigeria Customs Training Village, Ikeja, Lagos.
The CGC’s medical outreach which was in partnership with Rotary Club of Lagos, Palmgrove Estate, and Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Importers of Nigeria surpassed the set target of 500 as more residents in Ikeja joined the exercise.
Advocacy Times learnt that after the medical checkups, individuals were given free drugs and lenses.
Speaking on the medical exercise, Rotarian Anuj Murarka, President, Rotary Club of Lagos, Palmgrove Estate, confirmed that more than 500 people took part in the free medical checkups, stating that the club couldn’t have gotten the opportunity to serve the people within the community better, if not for the involvement of Nigeria Customs Service.
Murarka disclosed that the club collaborated with NCS to celebrate International Customs Day 2024 and focused more on free medical service to help prevent people’s underlying health issues before it escalated. “We also focused on health status because NCS needs to stay fit and healthy in order to carry out their statutory mandate, so they need to check their status always,” he said.
He said, “The CGC has been wonderful for taking this great step of partnership. As you can see, the programme involves comprehensive health service which includes blood pressure, sugar level and eye screening. Individuals were given free drugs and eye glasses after the checkups. It was observed that many have cataracts. So we decided to give them glasses. We intend doing more of this on a quarterly basis.”
The World Customs Organisation had dedicated 2024 to Customs engaging traditional and new partners with purpose, a strategic call to action, urging all major actors to broaden their perspectives, think creatively, and embrace innovative approaches.