A TOTAL of 450 doctors and hundreds of other medical practitioners will this week be attending to more than 10,000 residents already gathered at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium for free diagnosis and treatments.

 Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda organised the free medical camp that has pulled in thousands of people from around seven districts of Arusha Region in its first day of operation.

The camp will run for seven days, day-and-night, compelling installation of lights at the stadium, he said at the inaugural ceremony for the provision of free treatments at the open air camp.

Free treatment implies that should some patients need to be referred to advanced medical centers there is a ready transport facility, he said, citing a standby helicopter to airlift patients to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in the nearby Moshi municipality.

The chopper has been provided by Kili MedAir Aviation Co. Ltd, with the regional authorities deploying eight ambulances to ensure mobility for sick people who may have to be rushed to hospitals, he elaborated.

 President Samia Suluhu Hassan placed a direct phone call to the venue, thanking all stakeholders who contributed to the free medical camp for city residents, affirming that the government would chip in funds where needed.

She took time to speak to the residents who turned up for medical attention, through the call linked to the RC’s smartphone.

 “I am sure a lot of expenses have been invested in the medical camp,’ she stated, affirming that it will be a loss if people don’t take advantage of this golden opportunity to have their diseases cured.

Interviewed doctors at the medical camp said that Tanzania has been facing challenges of non-communicable diseases, mostly caused by modern lifestyles.

Other causes are environment and weather driven maladies like respiratory diseases, pneumonia and injuries suffered in accidents and workplaces, they added.