A United States-based Nigerian nurse and professor, Dr. Funmilayo Bandele, has dismissed speculations that the establishment of Julayo Health Centre in Akure is a stepping stone into politics, insisting that her only ambition is to save lives and improve access to quality healthcare.
Dr. Bandele said the decision to establish the health facility in Ondo State was inspired by a lifelong desire to give back to the community where her journey began and provide affordable, preventive healthcare for underserved residents.
Speaking with female journalists during a tour of the facility, the nurse practitioner and professor at the University of San Francisco explained that the vision for the centre was shaped by the loss of close relatives to preventable health conditions, including stroke and septicemia.
She said the experiences exposed the challenges facing Nigeria’s healthcare system, particularly inadequate access to quality healthcare for vulnerable groups and the elderly.
“It is heartbreaking that many young people cannot access quality healthcare, while elderly people depend almost entirely on their families. That was one of the reasons I relocated my parents to the United States, where they now receive the care they deserve,” she said.
Dr. Bandele disclosed that although she initially planned to establish the medical centre after retirement, she later decided to begin the project through Julayo Incorporated, a non-governmental organisation, with support from family and friends.
According to her, the NGO has invested about 40,000 dollars in shipping donated medical equipment from the United States to Nigeria. She added that some of the equipment has also been donated to the State Specialist Hospital, Akure.
She stressed that the initiative was never conceived as a profit-making venture or a platform for political ambition.
“I am not looking for a political position. I am not a politician. I am a nurse and a professor. My goal is to save lives, one patient and one community at a time,” she said.
The healthcare expert explained that Julayo Health Centre is focused on preventive healthcare through routine medical screening, community health education, early disease detection, maternal and child healthcare, laboratory services and emergency stabilisation before referring complicated cases to specialist hospitals.
“We want to prevent diseases before they occur through education, routine screening and early intervention. If we cannot manage a case, we will stabilise the patient and transfer them because people’s lives are more important,” she added.
Dr. Bandele revealed that the centre recently conducted a free medical outreach in Ijoka, Akure, during which about 80 residents received medical attention.
According to her, many participants were diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes and malaria and received treatment free of charge.
“We did not advertise on radio or television. We simply visited the community and invited residents. Eighty people came in one day, and many of them had serious health conditions they did not even know they had,” she said.
She assured that no patient would be denied treatment because of an inability to pay, noting that while those who can afford healthcare would be encouraged to support the facility, indigent patients would continue to receive care.
“If you have money, support us. If you don’t have money, get treated. Nobody will be sent home because they cannot afford healthcare,” she stated.
Dr. Bandele called on governments at all levels to strengthen primary healthcare, expand health insurance coverage, reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks and invest more i
n preventive healthcare, community health education and medical research.
“We have to remove selfishness from the system. Bureaucracy and delays cost lives. Government should listen to health workers, support primary healthcare and ensure more people are enrolled in health insurance schemes,” she said.
She expressed optimism that Julayo Health Centre would continue to expand in the coming years by introducing more specialised services, research-driven programmes and attracting additional medical equipment to Ondo State.
“In the next five years, I see this centre becoming much bigger and helping to attract more medical equipment, including MRI machines, to Ondo State. Mine is to serve humanity. If you are wired to serve humanity, you don’t rest until you fulfil that dream,” she said.
