Page 54 - ACCESS BANK ANNUAL REPORTS_eBook

the society. Through this scheme, over 15,000 students in It is envisaged that over 1,000 primary school pupils will
schools; 1,000 vulnerable children; 4,000 patients in hospi- benefit from the newly renovated sanitary facilities com-
tals; and 3,500 persons in retirement homes, prisons and prising 10 toilets. Furthermore, boreholes were construct-
orphanages have been positively impacted. Some of the ed at the primary school. The newly constructed boreholes
most notable initiatives from the Employee Volunteering adequately serve the primary school, the attached junior
Scheme in 2017 are discussed below: secondary school and indirectly the immediate Ajah com-
munity bordering the school which has no clean water sup-
ply.
Kick-Back Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disorder that is not only Let’s talk Depression
reaching pandemic proportions globally but also poised to
affect the developing countries of the world much more The Lets Talk Depression initiative was implemented by the
than their developed counterparts. While Nigeria has the General Resource Management Group in partnership with
highest burden of diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa with over the School of Art Lagos, the World Health Organization and
five million cases diagnosed, it is believed that its incidence Healthy Minds Foundation. Through this initiative, second-
can be reduced if Nigerians adopt healthy lifestyles. The ary school students in 25 Local Government Areas in Lagos
Internal Audit Group embarked on a health screening and and over 2.000 corps members at the NYSC Lagos Camp
health prevention exercise in the Aro Community, Eti Osa were impacted. The activities under the initiative included:
Local Government, Lagos State.
• An online platform/community, where students with
The exercise involved screening individuals for elevated symptoms of depression can engage with mental
blood sugar levels and diabetes, biometric measurements health professionals was created by the General Re-
and interpretations (Body Mass Index-BMI), and education source Management Group http://letstalkdepression.
on environmental and lifestyle modifications. The initia- ng/
tive successfully reached 238 individuals from the health
screening and prevention exercise, 199 adults and 39 • A short film was created starring star actor Wale Ojo
children (<18). A total of 45 individuals had elevated blood and Sola Kosoko highlighting the causes and effects
pressure which could have escalated to hypertension if it of depression with particular reference to the case of
was not promptly discovered during the screening exercise. school students.
They were promptly counselled and referred to prevent fur- • Free mental health evaluation and report carried out
ther complications. A total of 21 individuals had deranged for over 100 participants.
sugar levels and were promptly counselled and referred to
enhance proper management. The screenings helped to • Personal counselling for identified students with de-
reduce the risk of incapacitation resulting from the disease pression tendencies
for diagnosed individuals, and also its subsequent impact
on their economic status and the economy at large. This initiative has provided over 300 students and 1500
Corps members with a better understanding of how mental
illness can affect a person’s life. It also helped to reduce the
stigma of the disease thereby enabling the students with
Adopt-a-School
depression speak up. It empowered the students to rec-
In 2017, the Service & Innovation Group embarked on a ognize early signs of depression in themselves and other
project at the Olomu Primary School, Ajah, Lagos which students.
involved the renovation of 10 toilets for the primary school
block; overhauling the plumbing system; provision of clean
water by the installation of a new borehole and repairing the
water system.
The intervention also involved literacy development through
the ‘Read a Book a Day’ campaign, engagement and teach-
ing sessions conducted to teach the pupils healthy living.
Topics covered included menstrual hygiene, personal hy-
giene, dental hygiene and good manners (etiquette). Toi-
letries were distributed to the students to encourage the
practice of hygiene. There were also interactive sessions
between the Bank’s staff and the pupils.

54 Access BAnk Plc
Annual Report & Accounts 2017