The Nigerian Navy on Tuesday launched a combined medical and educational outreach programme at the Nigerian Navy Primary School on Mobil Road, Apapa, as part of activities marking the force's 70th anniversary.
The exercise, tagged a "Medical and Educational Rhapsody," was organised by NNS Beecroft and is expected to benefit approximately 1,000 pupils and parents.
Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, Commander of NNS Beecroft, said the initiative was in line with a directive from Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, who mandated all commands and units to give back to their host communities.
"The Nigerian Navy was established on the 1st of June 1956 as part of the Royal Navy, and this makes it our 70th year as a maritime force," Adams-Aliu said. "We have grown to become the strongest navy in Africa, and today we are giving back."
He said the outreach was deliberately targeted at children, adding that the Navy intended to replicate the exercise across other schools in the community in the coming weeks.
"It is not a one-off. In a few weeks, we will go to another school and another school within this community," he said, adding that patients requiring specialist attention would be referred to a nearby naval hospital.
The base medical officer, Lt. Commander Francis Dodis Fuanbial, said medical services at the event included deworming for all pupils, mosquito net distribution for children under three, and drugs for conditions including hypertension, diabetes and malaria.
"The series of drugs we have include antibiotics, anti-malaria, oral hypoglycemic agents and antihypertensives. Those we cannot fully attend to will be referred to our hospital," Fuanbial said.
He added that the school's total enrolment of 674 students, alongside approximately 300 parents who had pre-registered, made up the roughly 1,000 beneficiaries expected at the event.
Fuanbial noted that while the Navy had previously held similar outreaches within the Ajegunle community, this edition was deliberately held at the school to focus on children — many of whom, he said, are from the same Ajegunle neighbourhood.
The Nigerian Navy Primary School, Apapa, holds particular significance for the force.
Founded in 1976, it is the Navy's first welfare school and is expected to mark its 50th anniversary next month.
The PTA Chairman of the school acknowledged ongoing infrastructure challenges, particularly with roofing and sanitation facilities, but expressed gratitude for the Navy's intervention, saying the community was committed to maintaining hygiene standards to protect pupils' health.
Adams-Aliu said the broader goal of the outreach was to strengthen civil-military cooperation by bridging the divide between the armed forces and civilian communities.
"Health, they say, is wealth. What we owe these children is good health so they can live long, and education so they can contribute meaningfully to society," he said.
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