SPOTLIGHTS
- Omaji partnered with the Ilera Eko Scheme to provide the insurance
- He aims to create a sustainable support system called “I-LAMP” for children with sickle cell
- The initiative will focus on improving overall quality of life, including health, education, and talent development
- Several schools and organisations are collaborating on the project
By Henry Uche, Lagos
As the world commemorates the 2024 World Sickle Cell Awareness Day, a youth corps member serving in Yaba, Lagos State, George Oche Omaji, has partnered with the Ilera Eko Scheme of the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) to offer 60 children living with sickle cell disease in Lagos a one-year health insurance cover.
The Benue State-born corps member (Batch 23B, Stream 1), who is rounding off his one-year service on 13 June, said that because he lives with sickle cell disease, he chose to make life better for children living with the disease who could not afford the cost of medication, under the Health Insurance Trend for Children Living with Sickle Cell Disease (HIT-SCD) initiative.
The Ilera Eko Scheme (Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme) was established in 2015 to provide access to effective, quality, and equitable healthcare services, while providing financial protection from healthcare costs to all residents of Lagos State.
The microbiologist, whose primary place of assignment is the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research – Yaba, said, “I couldn’t wait till 19 June, but then I would have rounded off my national service, so I decided to collaborate with Ilera Eko to offer children living with sickle cell disease both free and subsidised medical services.”
During a rally in Yaba, Omaji and his team carried different placards with inscriptions like “Children living with sickle cell can live like others if given proper care”, “Together we can win the fight against sickle cell disease”, “Sickle cell is not contagious, it’s a genetic thing”, “Fund and support the sickle cell community”, “Children with sickle cell are not evil children”, “Do you know your genotype and that of your children?”, and “Be informed”, to push their message to Nigerians.
“We have a sustainable plan called ‘I Look After My People (I-LAMP)’,” he said. “The idea is to build a community where older and well-to-do adult ‘warriors’ will be able to look after or mentor the younger ‘warriors’. It is more like warriors looking out for warriors, giving them the best life possible. We are out for not just health but their overall quality of life, including health, education, talent, and so on. With I-LAMP, every warrior gets to shine.”
In partnership with the Slum and Rural Health Initiative Network, Human Development Initiative, Centre for Reproductive and Population Health Studies (CRePHs), New Heights Pharm, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, and Mr Bethel Emmanuel, who is a major sponsor, he affirmed that children of this nature have no cause to fear.
“These warriors drawn from Jibowu Junior High School, Yaba; Aje Comprehensive Junior/Senior Secondary School; Lagos City College; Wesley Girls Junior and Senior Secondary School, Yaba; Mobolaji Bank Anthony Junior High School; and St. Francis Junior Grammar School, would have cause to live a fulfilled life,” he assured.
