NEWS Report (Leadership and New national Star) – NGO (OCI) Partners NYSC On Cancer Education (12/2/24)

Source: Leadership, Nigeria

Story by Affa Acho (12/02/2024)

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), OCI Foundation with focus on breast and cancer screening and treatment is set to expand its partnership with the National Youth Service Corps.

This was made known during a programme organised by the NYSC headquarters at the Junior Secondary School, Gosa-Sarki, Abuja, with the theme; “Special Health Initiative For Rural Dwellers (HIRD)”.

The leader of the foundation, who led a delegation to honour the invitation from the director-general of NYSC, Dr. Fatima Inusa Anga, affirmed that the lofty ideas behind the HIRD programme aligned with the mission and vision of the foundation, particularly its brainchild, “Arm Our Youths (ArOY) Anti-cancer Health Campaign” on which a partnership with the NYSC exists.

Anga said the technology-driven ArOY Health Campaign became part of the regular NYSC orientation activities following a colourful flag-off ceremony on 3rd February, 2022.

She stated that the campaign, which had its first cohort with the 2022 Batch A Stream 1 has since been delivered across all twelve streams and six batches in most of the 37 NYSC orientation camps of the federation.

Anga asserted that an estimated one million Nigerian youths have been reached with the life-saving educational and exciting anti-cancer messages of the ArOY Health Campaign over its two years and 12 editions of existence.

The highlight of the event was when the OCI Foundation, on the authority of its founder, Australia based Prof. Chris Ifediora signaled its intention to expand its existing partnership with the NYSC by introducing free mobile cervical cancer screening and treatment services into the orientation activities in addition to the foundation’s already existing gynocular cancer project.

Members of the OCI Foundation team at the event include, Mrs Esther Akor, Mr Luther Ikyobo, Ms Felicia Terdoo Dagu, Miss Chinwe Igwe and a number of other corps members volunteering for the OCI Foundation within the FCT.