Baby born without anus gets lifeline as Onyejeocha vows to foot ₦5m surgery bill

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…Extends medical outreach to nomadic school

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By Steve Oko

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UMUAHIA — Moved by the plight of a baby born without anus, former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has vowed to bear the full cost of the child’s treatment, declaring that poverty should never condemn any child to death.

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The former Minister, who is conducting a week-long free medical outreach across Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency, said the infant’s condition was among several heartbreaking cases that convinced her to personally fund treatment for patients whose ailments cannot be handled by the volunteer medical team.

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This is as she has extended the free medical outreach to the nomadic school at the Lokpanta Regional Cattle market where pupils, women, and a swat of Northern community at the market received free medical treatment.

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Fielding questions from newsmen after inspecting the ongoing exercise, Onyejeocha said doctors had told the baby’s mother that corrective surgery could cost between ₦3 million and ₦5 million—an amount the woman could not dream of raising.

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“If this outreach doesn’t help her, who will? The young mother cannot even afford ₦50,000, yet she has been told to produce between ₦3 million and ₦5 million for surgery,” Onyejeocha said emotionally.

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“I have instructed the medical team that once they identify patients whose conditions cannot be managed here, they should admit them in hospital and send the bills to me.”

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She explained that the child currently passes waste through an opening in the abdomen and urgently requires specialised surgery to survive.

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Onyejeocha said the baby’s case symbolises the silent health crisis confronting many poor families who are forced to watch loved ones suffer simply because they cannot pay hospital bills.

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She revealed that similar encounters over the years strengthened her resolve to sustain the humanitarian programme, which she said had run uninterrupted for 19 years and predated her political career.

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“I started this outreach before politics. It is a family tradition. My grandmother spent her life caring for the sick and helping poor families. I grew up watching her, and I cannot stop now.”

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She said the current outreach is expected to treat about 1,000 people, with serious cases receiving referrals for advanced care at her expense.

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The former lawmaker noted that while governments continue to invest in healthcare, the burden remains enormous, making private humanitarian interventions indispensable.

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“For me, every life matters. If God gives me the strength and the resources, I will continue because nobody should die simply because they are poor,” she said.

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On possible health sector reforms should she return to the National Assembly, Onyejeocha said she would evaluate existing government health policies and push for necessary improvements based on her nearly two decades of grassroots medical intervention.

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“I won’t make promises now. When I get to the National Assembly, I will interrogate existing policies with the benefit of my experience and support or amend them where necessary,” she said.

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Speaking on behalf of the Northern community at the Lokpanta Regional Cattle Market, former Market Chairman, Alhaji Ali Umar; the community’s Secretary, Ali Ibrahim Kanima; and the Chief Imam, Mohammed Tukur Usman, praised Onyejeocha for extending the free medical outreach to the market.

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They expressed delight that the Northern community had not been excluded from the dividends of democracy, while commending the Abia State Government for restoring security in the once-troubled market, saying traders now conduct their businesses without fear.

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The leaders, however, appealed to the government to address the area’s acute water shortage.

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Speaking also, Emmanuel Igwe and Anthony Maduka, whose six-year-old and 13-year-old sons underwent free hernia surgeries during the outreach at Isuochi, thanked Onyejeocha for the life-changing intervention and prayed for God’s blessings upon her.

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At Isuikwuato, former Mayor and APC House of Assembly candidate, Chima Agbaeze, hailed Onyejeocha’s sustained healthcare initiative, describing it as a lifeline that has restored hope to thousands of indigent residents across the constituency.

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Dr Stanley Uju, who spoke for the Team Lead, Dr Humble Evuchaiwe, said the medical team comprising health professionals from different branches of medicine, was in high spirit to attend to everyone seeking medical attention.

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He noted that several successful surgeries had been carried out, adding that the team is working assiduously to meet its target.

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