By Olusegun Aribike
The District Governor of Lions Clubs International District 404B4, Mrs Patience Ngene, has urged the federal government to tackle grassroots hunger, linking poor nutrition to rising diabetes cases nationwide.
Ngene made the call during a news conference on Friday in Lagos while unveiling the district’s agenda for the 2026/2027 Lions service year, with diabetes prevention and management adopted as its flagship humanitarian project.
The project targets not less than 10,000 beneficiaries through screening, treatment referrals, and public awareness.
She said the government must deepen social interventions and improve access to food for vulnerable communities to enhance the welfare and health outcomes of Nigerians.
“If you advise the President, he should come down to the grassroots and see how we can touch lives and make sure we all have our two square meals at least in a day,” she said.
Ngene said the district would establish diabetes screening centres for children and adults, strengthen eye-care services through vision screening and awareness campaigns, and implement projects based on communities’ identified needs.
“My priority is very simple. My focus is on diabetes.
“My priority is screening both adults and children all through the year and making sure they are being treated,” she said.
According to her, Lions Clubs will also empower youths and women through vocational and entrepreneurial training at the Samson Abodurin Skill Acquisition Centre in Lagos, while 50 widows will receive sewing and branding machines to support sustainable livelihoods.
She said the district would continue providing food and other essential support to vulnerable persons while pursuing membership growth and retention to expand its humanitarian impact.
“Our mission this Lions Year is to deliver impactful, sustainable service that transforms lives.
“At the end of the Lions Year, my intention will be to look back and see how many lives I was able to impact,” she said.
The Pioneer District Governor of District 404B4, Mr Samson Abodurin, said hunger remained one of Lions International’s core humanitarian priorities globally because inadequate nutrition was driving the prevalence of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
“Hunger leads a lot of people to eat whatever is available, not what is necessary to be eaten,” he said.
Abodurin said untreated diabetes could result in blindness, kidney disease, liver complications and death, adding that the district selected diabetes as its flagship project to promote early detection, treatment referrals, nutrition education and public advocacy.
He, however, assured that the renewed focus on diabetes would not affect the organisation’s commitment to hunger relief, saying Lions Clubs would continue distributing food and relief materials to vulnerable groups across communities.
Also, First Vice District Governor, Mr Wale Obisesan, said the organisation remained committed to serving people irrespective of background through community-focused humanitarian interventions.
Ngene, the first female District Governor from Bayelsa State, appealed to government agencies, corporate organisations, traditional institutions, the media, and other stakeholders to partner with the district to expand its humanitarian programmes.
“Together, we can transform lives through service and leave a legacy that generations yet unborn will remember,” she said.
The District 404B4 Cabinet Secretary, Mr Olawale Salako, also appealed to the media to support the organisation by creating greater awareness of its humanitarian activities across communities. (NAN)
Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa