News (Sun News Online) OCI Foundation, NYSC, others move to sensitise pubic on breast, cervical cancer

Source: Sun News Online

October 20, 2021

The OCI foundation, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Nigeria Cancer Society and other stakeholders have strengthened collaboration set to reduce the scourge of cancer in Nigeria through improved advocacy/awareness in schools and other public places.

President of the OCI Foundation, Prof. Chris Ifediora at a seminar with the theme “Arm Our Youths Health Campaign” in Abuja, on Wednesday, stated that the collaboration was to widen the sensitization on the breast and cervical cancer particularly at the NYSC orientation camps.

He said: “The Campaign is a health promotion initiative of the OCI Foundation, which seeks to introduce anti-breast and anti-cervical cancer teachings into the regular activities at the NYSC orientation camps across Nigeria. It also aims at including the preventive teachings into the academic curriculum of all senior secondary schools Nigeria.

“To actualise these interventions in schools, we have reached out to the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council(NERDC) which is the body saddled with curriculum changes at the national level. We are hopeful of having the desired changes ready within the next 12 months. ”

President of the Nigeria Cancer Society, Dr. Adamu Umar, in his remarks,called on the government to expand the provisions of the national health insurance scheme to ensure adequate healthcare for every Nigerian.

“We in the Nigerian cancer space are always calling on the government to expand scope of NHIS. Currently, the way it is ,it is only a little percentage of Nigerians,less than 10 percent benefit from the scheme and without universal health coverage there is no way,we can achieve the desired objectives of providing health care for all Nigerians not to talk of cancer alone.

“The recently introduced cancer health fund has been in the budget for the past two years without implementation. I’m happy to inform Nigerians that implementation is about to start now and meant for only indigent patients across six hospitals in Nigerial. One billion naira has been budgeted for indigent patients that don’t have the means to access treatment. We are saying that it is not enough, we want more hospitals to be covered by government.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said that there is an annual budgetary allocation by the Federal Government on cancer treatment.

Adesina stressed that cancer remained a major concern to the Federal Government and that the Cancer Fund would soon be inaugurated.