…say early detection key to saving lives
Segun Babatunde, Bauchi
The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists(NAWOJ) Bauchi State Chapter in collaboration with Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) with support from the office of the Bauchi First Lady has organised a free breast and Cervical Cancer screening for women in Bauchi State.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme that held at the Miri Primary Health Care in Bauchi on Tuesday, the Bauchi State First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed described breast and Cervical Cancer as one of the leading cause of deaths among women globally.
Represented by Hon Hassan Arkila, the First Lady said that the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed has been making frantic efforts in addressing the ugly scourge of breast and cervical cancer in the state by collaborating with health partners and stakeholders as well as keying into health programmes in that regard.
While commending the State Chapter of NAWOJ and PPFN for organizing the programme, Aisha Bala Mohammed called on stakeholders in the state to create more awareness on the disease so that more women can avail themselves for cancer screening, pointing out that, it will go a long way to fight the scourge of the disease as well as reduce the number of deaths as a result of the disease.
Speaking earlier, the State Chairperson of NAWOJ Rashida Yusuf, said that women, particularly those residing in rural areas need to be educated on breast and Cervical Cancer as many of them are not aware of what the disease is all about.
She said that the programme was timely considering the fact that many women usually detect the disease when it is in an advance stage, making it difficult to manage because of the high cost of treatment.
“We brought this programme to the door steps of this community because we want more women to come out get themselves screened of breast and Cervical cancer. We believe early detection is key to saving lives” she said
Also speaking, the State Coordinator PPFN, Adamu Abdulkadir Degri said that PPFN as an organization was established in the year 1962 to assist state governments in the area of Maternal, Child and Newborn health, adding that the organization in Bauchi have conducted training for more than 20 primary health workers.
In his speech, the District Head of Miri community, Mallam, Hussein Abubakar, stressed on the need for women to be screened for Breast and Cervical Cancer, saying that they should avail themselves the opportunity to be screened in order not to fall victim of the disease.
