DHQ Alerts On Rising High Blood Pressure, Ulcer Cases

The Defence Headquarters has described as “alarming’’, cases of high-blood pressure and ulcer among the people in areas affected by the persistent violence in Plateau.

The Tide source reports that local government areas mostly affected include Jos-North, Jos-South, Jos-East, Riyom and Barkin-Ladi.

“The rampant cases of high blood pressure and ulcers are alarming in the crisis-prone areas,’’ Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, declared in Jos on Monday while speaking at the closing ceremony of a free healthcare scheme for Plateau residents.

The Defence Headquarters organised the scheme as part of confidence-building measures toward peace in the areas.

Petinrin attributed the cases to the protracted crises in those areas.

“About 6,000 people benefited from the free-health week exercise. From our statistics, high-blood pressure and ulcer were the highest ailments recorded.

“From what medical experts observed, when people are in such traumatised situations, those ailments usually come up,” Petinrin said.

However, our source reports that there were no immediate statistics supplied to back up the claim of rising cases of “high blood pressure and ulcer’’ in the state.

Represented by retired Air Commodore Michael Ekwere, Petinrin said that no amount was too much to achieve peace in Plateau.

“Much was expended on the exercise, but nothing is too much toward peace in Plateau,’’ he said.

“In terms of strategy, this exercise is also to tell the public that there are other sides of the military; the military is not all about “war-war” but can also “jaw-jaw,” he said.

He announced that the medical equipment used for the week-long exercise had been donated to the benefiting areas to enable them carry out a continuous exercise to improve the health conditions of the citizens.