(Pics and Video) Delta State Government hosts OCI Foundation, as both parties set to partner for a digital Cervical Cancer Screening Center in Asaba, Nigeria (19/9/2022)

OCI Foundation set to partner Delta State to establish a free digital Cervical Cancer Screening Center (By Dr Njide Ezeonyejiaku, OCI Foundation’s Media Consultant; 19/9/2022)

The Honourable Commissioner for Health, Delta State, Nigeria Dr Mordi Ononye, has described the OCI Foundation International’s proposal to establish a Gynocular health project in Delta State (Nigeria), in partnership with the Delta State Ministry of Health, as a good and innovative project that is capable of lifting the health status of the State.

The Commissioner stated this when he played host to a delegation of the OCI Foundation International in his office at the Prof Chike Edozien Secretariat, Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.

Dr Ononye observed that the issue of cancer and its management is on the front burner of the State government’s health agenda and assured the team of their readiness to work with them in the nearest future.

Earlier, the leader of the OCI Foundation’s team, Dr Njide Ezeonyejiaku, explained that the OCI Foundation International, which is a non-governmental and non-profit organization based in both Australia and Nigeria, has been running a tripartite set of programmes that focus on education, health, and social/public welfare targeting at enhancing the welfare of Nigerians, especially the youths, since 2016.

According to Dr Ezeonyejiaku who is the media Consultant of the OCI Foundation, the organisation, which was founded by a Nigerian Medical Practitioner based in Australia (Associate Prof. Chris Ifediora), has, since 2016, been offering scholarships to students of Anambra East LGA, of Anambra State, Nigeria at various levels.

Through the Foundation’s Arm Our Youths Health Campaign, the organization has also been providing preventive health education on breast and cervical cancers to senior secondary school students in Nigeria. This cancer campaign has now been extended to the NYSC camps across the 36 States and the FCT, Abuja.

Dr Ezeonyejiaku noted that the OCI Foundation International’s Gynocular Health Project which is being offered to Delta State), is an addition to the organisation’s efforts to reduce the burden of cancer among Nigerian women.

Explaining the modality of the partnership between the OCI Foundation International and the Delta State Ministry of Health, the Executive Assistant to the OCI Foundation’s President, Mr Charles Okoh. said that the OCI Foundation’s Gynocular Health Project offers the most advanced and most reliable cervical cancer screening test to Nigerians with its three important components. These include the free digital cervical screening/diagnostic component, which is equivalent to Colposcopy. It also includes the CareHPV Test Machine, and the CareHPV Test Consumable Kits.

Mr Okoh noted that Delta State can be the first to benefit of the recently developed digital molecular cancer screening project with the CareHPV Test Machine, ahead of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where part of the project is already functional. Anambra State I also getting ready for a roll-out of this program soon, in another project with the OCI Foundation.