Full story: Igwe K.O.N Orizu III, Nigeria’s Longest Serving Monarch, hosts the OCI Foundation; Set to become the Grand Patron (Nnewi, Nigeria; June 28th, 2021)

TUESDAY, JUNE 28TH, 2021:

Nigeria’s longest serving Monarch (since February 1963), HRH, Igwe K.O.N Orizu III of Nnewi Kingdom, is set to become a Grand Patron of the OCI Foundation.

Igwe Orizu, aged 95 (born 30/10/1925), also gave a powerful royal endorsement for the OCI Foundation’s Arm our Youths (ArOY) Health Campaign .

The OCI Foundation’s delegation was led by its National Champion, Rev Dr Austin Epunam, who is also the Founder of the Sweet Home Africa Humanitarian Foundation (SHAF). Other members of the Foundation’s delegation were:

1. Lady Joy Ulasi, the Anambra State Champion;
2. Mrs Imelda Emeka, the Domestic Liaison Officer;
3. Dr Anugo Ogbuagu, one of the Directors of the Foundation’s Gynocular digital cervical cancer screening project;
4. Mr Peter Okolie, IT Officer, OCI Foundation;
5. Mr Victor Okolie, President, Global Youth Leaders Network (GYLeN);
6. Mrs Chinenye Jide Udeaja (Advocacy Team Member)
7. Mr Ikenna Onuzulike (Advocacy Team Member)
8. Comrade Too Mike Epunam (Advocacy Team Member)
9. Hon Mrs Mbadugha (Advocacy Team Member)

For the records, the ArOY Campaign is a novel, Harvard-endorsed, WHO-supported, and evidence-based health promotion initiative of the OCI Foundation, which is being introduced across all senior secondary schools in Nigeria as a way of tackling breast and cervical cancers. In September 2019, it was rolled out across all the 261 senior secondary schools in Anambra State of Nigeria, and a similar event, scheduled for Benue State in May 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  All of Nigeria’s 36 states (and the FCT) are expected to benefit from the ArOY campaign on or before the end of 2025, and the ongoing consultations are part of this whole process.

The ArOY Health Campaign has the support of the, NextGenU.org (the World’s first online University), the United States Centers for Disease Control (U.S. CDC) and the University of British Columbia, Canada (ranked 45^th in the world, according to the 2021 QS World University Ranking). Experts from these institutions, along with others from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) and the Griffith University (Australia), will work with the OCI Foundation and the Nigerian Government on the roll-out, implementation and monitoring of the ArOY project. In addition, the prestigious Harvard Medical School, USA, of which Dr Chris Ifediora (the Founder of the OCI Foundation) is an Alumnus of, had earlier endorsed the Campaign, and made significant contributions to the Campaign’s design ahead of its roll out in Anambra State last year.

A number of other reputable Nigerian institutions partnering the OCI Foundation on this initiative include the Innoson Group, the NYSC (National Office), the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs (Nigeria), Nollywood Nigeria, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), Silk Road Restaurant (Abuja), and the Post Primary Schools Service Commission, PPSSC (Anambra state), among others.