Aisha Buhari, Nigeria’s first lady, has called for adequate investment in the country’s treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Mr Buhari made the call on Wednesday when she received the beneficiaries of her free cardiovascular (heart) surgery at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The beneficiaries were at the Villa on a thank-you visit to the first lady for her assistance.

The first lady also expressed her desire to continue collaborating with other health sector development partners toward providing the necessary care to children of underprivileged families in Nigeria.

“Through my Aisha Buhari Foundation and the Future Assured, an idea was conceived to partner with other international heart surgeons from Italy to undertake free heart surgeries for Nigerians in need of such services,” Ms Buhari stated. 

The first lady added, “The mission was deliberate to provide medical care to the needy, especially children with critical heart conditions, and today we are able to celebrate with the beneficiaries after a successful operation.”

The chief medical director of the Federal Medical Centre Jabi, Sa`ad Ahmed, commended the first lady for a partnership with the Italian surgeons.

According to Mr Ahmed, the beneficiaries would have found it difficult to cope with the conditions without the intervention of the first lady.

A beneficiary, Murtala Dodo, lauded the first lady for resuscitating his life after battling the disease for a long time.

Ms Buhari had, on January 24, invited a team of cardiac surgeons from Italy to offer free heart surgery for less-privileged children in Nigeria 

(NAN)