An Ebonyi don, Professor Henry Urochukwu has launched an online clinic to promote safe nutritional habits, educate and offer free nutri-medical therapy and information to the public.
The online clinic codenamed “Nutri-Med clinic” is aimed at bridging the gap in knowledge resulting from the declining reading culture in Nigeria in particular, and Africa in general.
The online platform was unveiled in an exclusive ceremony held Wednesday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
It also incorporated the official unveiling of over 10 books written by the don on different subjects bordering on nutritional medicine.
Urochukwu, a consultant physician, multiple doctorate degree holder in the health sciences and a lecturer in Ebonyi State University, said he was propelled to introduce the innovation by the need to conceptualize medical practice in line with the available and accessible things in our environment in terms of the food we eat, its processing and preservation.
He also stated that the continuously declining reading culture among students and other groups prompted him to develop the social media platform which combines audio-visual education and entertainment to pass nutri-medical knowledge for public wellbeing.
Urochukwu explained “Every region has tried to conceptualize medical practice, bringing medicine to what is available in their place.
“That’s why you hear about the traditional Chinese medicine, for instance.
“There’s nothing wrong with the way we practice healing, but the only thing wrong is that it not scientifically based.
“The thing about disease is that what goes in determines what comes out.
“If what goes in is healthy, you will never be sick.
“But if what goes in is faulty, the person gets hospitalized every time.
“What we are doing is to look inwards; we look at nutrition, not from the supermarket, but what is available within our environment that can help our people live healthy.
“We’ve written them as books, but how many people will read it?
“So we’ve tried to go to the social media, put it as movies, educative video clips so that people can access it.”
The don who underscored the importance of Youths as behavior change drivers, noted that by going online in YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and other social.media channels, a greater number of people would be reached with Science evidenced information so that individuals and families can all live healthy.
Maintaining that he already recorded episodes enough for more than a year, he explained that each week will have one episode with the remaining days for questions and answers to further clarify issues on treated topics.
Urochukwu further explained that apart from his books and the social media innovation, he carries out visitation to rural communities through his platform to interact with, and sensitize the elderly, the youth and women on how to eat right and live healthy.
He also revealed his plan to set up Nutri-Med Ambassadors in all the schools and universities in the country and the African continent which would be inaugurated by next year, 2026, to help drive the vision.
Meanwhile, the don, who decried the declining lifespan in Africa due to unhealthy nutrition, challenged the government to come up with policies that would drive safe nutrition for good health.
“If government does not earmark and implement those food safety rules, we are going no where.
“Virtually everything we eat in Nigeria is adulterated, and that’s why you see Cancers everywhere.
“Our lifespan today seems to be 48 for men and 52 for women, and that is sad.
“It is not because God doesn’t like us, but because everything we eat today from palm Oil to garri, to meat are all adulterated, and our institutional system are not doing much to curb this.
“Otherwise, why should a person killing Cow use tyre to roast it?; Why should somebody selling palm oil use red dyes which causes Cancer to colour it?; Why should someone selling “Suya” use Newspaper in wrapping it knowing there’s ink in it?; why should you use polythene bag to prepare “Okpa”?
“There’s no way we will live long when we indulge in these kinds of nutrition practices”, he emphasized.
He encouraged students and all health conscious persons to subscribe and enjoy the benefits of the clinic.
The gathering was attended by many other prominent professors of medical and health sciences from the state and beyond, traditional rulers and civil society organisations, including the former Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu; former Chief Medical Director of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Paul Ezeonu and the Chief Medical Director of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Uburu, Professor Uzoma Maryrose Agwu, among others.
In their seperate goodwill messages, the dons commended their colleague, Urochukwu, for the innovation pledging to collaborate with him in advancing the Nutri-Med vision and mission which they observed would positively impact medical practice in Africa
