Nigeria: Mainstream Foundation Provides Free Medical Care To 2,408 Residents In Bida

Mainstream Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd., operator of the Kainji, Jebba and Zungeru hydropower plants, has provided free medical care to 2,408 residents of Bida in Nigeria’s Niger State during its 2026 medical outreach programme.

The two-day outreach focused on eye care and general medical services, with residents screened for cataracts and pterygium.

Patients requiring medication or prescription reading glasses received them free of charge as part of the programme.

Following the screening, patients diagnosed with cataracts were referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Bida, where ophthalmologists assembled by the Foundation performed sight-restoring surgeries at the hospital’s ophthalmology clinic.

The outreach attracted hundreds of residents, many of them elderly, who arrived at the hospital seeking treatment for long-standing vision problems.

“We are in Bida again to address issues related to eye health, and once more the numbers are overwhelming,” said Zayyanu Illo, Programme Manager of Mainstream Foundation.

“The patients come in varying ages, male and female, and we prioritise the elderly, women and children. Everything we provide at these outreaches is free—from consultation, medication and reading glasses to surgery. We also provide meals and transport support for patients,” Illo said.

The Foundation said its medical outreach programme is aimed at improving access to healthcare for vulnerable communities by providing free eye care and general medical consultations to residents who would otherwise struggle to access treatment.

At the end of the two-day programme:

• 2,408 patients were registered.
• 1,510 patients received medical consultations.
• 109 cataract surgeries were performed.
• 131 sight-restoring eye surgeries were completed.
• More than 2,000 medications were distributed free of charge.
• 688 prescription glasses were provided.

Beneficiaries welcomed the initiative, saying it had restored their vision and improved their quality of life.

Catherine Joshua, who said she had suffered impaired vision for more than two years, described the intervention as life-changing.

Uwa Musa, who travelled from Chanchaga, said he had been unable to afford a second eye operation after undergoing surgery a decade ago until the Foundation’s outreach.

Another beneficiary, Gimba Haske from Masaka, said he had lived with an eye condition for three years before receiving treatment through the programme.

Illo said the growing number of cataract cases highlighted the need to expand access to eye care services.

“The number of cataract cases we are seeing continues to increase, indicating that more needs to be done. We are considering conducting the outreach twice a year and strengthening public awareness campaigns on eye health to support prevention and post-operative care,” he said.

Mainstream Foundation said it would continue working with health institutions, including the Federal Medical Centre in Bida, to expand access to specialist healthcare services and help reduce preventable blindness in underserved communities.