US-based Vital Health helps nearly 4,000 Nigerians with free medical care across Ogun, Warri
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Between August 4 and 13, a health-focused non-governmental organisation, Vital Health International, provided free medical screening and medications to Christian communities during the RCCG 2026 Annual Convention along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, and at the Word of Life Bible Church in Warri, Delta State.
The free health screening, powered by Dr Joe Tarkon’s City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and other goodwill organisations and individuals, recorded a turnout that far exceeded expectations.
The RCCG screening, held at Redemption Camp, was designed for pastors and missionaries, especially those serving in areas with limited health facilities.
The General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who endorsed the medical screening via a letter addressed to continental overseers and pastors-in-charge of regions and provinces, urged members to make themselves available for the screening. In response, at least 2,000 pastors, missionaries and their families were screened, undergoing tests including urinalysis, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, electrocardiogram, full blood count, PSA, and others. Medications were thereafter provided to last the patients at least one month.
The team mobilised for the outreach numbered about 100, including 25 doctors across different specialties, drawn from the United States, United Kingdom, Ibadan and Lagos.
In Warri, the Vital Health screening was part of a month-long crusade featuring dozens of Christian ministers from across the globe at the Word of Life Bible Church. A massive number of church members and residents thronged to the venue of the medical outreach following a personal appeal by the church’s senior pastor, Ayo Oritsejafor, urging them to take advantage of the intervention. He recalled his own bout with cancer and said he survived it because of sound medical counsel from Dr Tarkon, who encouraged him to undergo a surgical procedure. In two days, the Vital Health team saw nearly 2,000 patients and provided free medications to them.
Tarkon, who was among the Christian ministers who preached at the crusade themed ‘Let God Arise,’ said Christian conviction does not excuse believers from seeking medical attention. He recounted cases of people who avoided hospitals out of misplaced faith and paid with their lives, including a cancer patient he personally flew to London for treatment who died after her diagnosis came too late.
Tarkon, author of two health-focused books, Taking Control of High Blood Pressure and Taking Control of Diabetes, referenced Malachi 4:2, where Scripture speaks of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings for those who revere God’s name.
One of the doctors who flew in from the U.S. for the mission, Dr Folu Akinnusi, said his enthusiasm for the mission was spurred by the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 25:40, where He admonishes Christians: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, you do to me.”
He also said the dire need for help was another motivating factor. “Regarding healthcare and general wellbeing in Nigeria currently, there is literally and figuratively ongoing starvation in the midst of abundance. For most citizens, healthcare access and affordability are perennial, pervasive and cost-prohibitive issues.”
He added: “Personally, this is a country that gave me a lot for next to nothing while I was growing up. Having to give back is simply a no-brainer.”
