UBOMI Free Medical Outreaches Bridging Healthcare Gaps in Nigeria

Kunle Adewale

The PCIS Foundation, the social intervention vehicle of The Elevation Church, on Monday flagged off its 11th UBOMI Medical and Surgical Outreach in Lagos, targeting medical care for nearly 5,000 beneficiaries and projecting close to 15,000 free health interventions within a week.

Speaking at a media parley held on Wednesday at the facility, the founder and Board Chair of PCIS Foundation, Pastor Godman Akinlabi, stated that the initiative aims to bridge the critical deficits in Nigeria’s healthcare sector, particularly as economic challenges prevent citizens from accessing quality care.

“Government alone cannot resolve all the problems because we are a heavily populated country,” Akinlabi said.

“With the economic situation, many more people are falling into the category of those who can no longer afford quality medical care. Our effort is to supplement this huge gap and contribute to nation-building,” he added.

The Lagos edition marked the third and final UBOMI outreach for the year, following a one-day event in Shogotedo, Lagos, and a five-day outreach in Ring Road, Ibadan, Oyo State, which recorded over 3,000 beneficiaries and 10,000 interventions.

Since its inception in 2019, the UBOMI initiative has reached 22,811 unique beneficiaries. To accommodate growing demand, the foundation recently scaled its operations from an annual event to conducting three extensive medical outreaches every year.

The programme relies on strategic technical collaborations, notably a seven-year partnership with ProHealth International and a recurring clinical partnership with HDS Clinic, led by Chief Executive Dr. Badmus. HDS Clinic provides the critical infrastructure for major surgeries, dental operations, and optometric procedures following patient triaging at the main facility.

Dr. Eko Ibanga, representing ProHealth International, emphasised that the outreach is powered entirely by skilled professionals donating their time. “Every doctor, nurse, and pharmacist you meet here is volunteering free of charge. It is an act of service to humanity,” Ibanga said, noting that ProHealth brings 35 years of medical mission expertise to the collaboration.

The depth of the project’s impact was highlighted by the story of a beneficiary from the inaugural 2019 outreach, Jumoke Ishau. She successfully underwent surgery at UBOMI to remove a 14.5 kg fibroid mass that had been misdiagnosed due to superstition. Now a healthy grandmother, Jumoke returned to the 2026 Lagos outreach to serve as a volunteer.

Beyond healthcare, Pastor Akinlabi noted that the PCIS Foundation operates on a three-point intervention strategy encompassing health, education, and shelter.

The foundation organisers ended with a call to action, urging other faith-based organisations, corporate bodies, and private individuals to partner in similar community development initiatives to uplift vulnerable populations across the country.

In his submission, then foundation’s Executive Director, Leonard Thomas, said the outreach focused on primary and secondary healthcare, with services covering general medical consultations, dental care, eye treatment, general surgery and paediatric care.

Thomas said the foundation also provided follow-up support for beneficiaries after the outreach, including wound management and medication refills, to ensure that patients continued to recover.

He said, “There are people who have had cases and have not been able to take care of them for over five years, so this is a huge relief to them.”

Thomas disclosed that the foundation attended to about 3,600 people during its recent outreach in Ibadan, where it also performed more than 100 gynaecological surgeries and over 100 eye surgeries.

He said the foundation hoped to replicate and surpass the impact of the Ibadan programme in Lagos.