Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has revealed plan to establish cancer treatment centres in the six geopolitical zones of the country to enable rural women to access screening, early detection and treatment of the disease.
She disclosed this during a Breast and Cervical Cancer Walk and Screening organised by the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) on Saturday in Abuja.
The event was in collaboration with the Centre for Gender Value and Culture to mark the 2020 Cancer Awareness Month.
Represented by Dr Hajo Sani, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Women Affairs, the president’s wife explained that the rate of cancer infection in women called for urgent attention from government and stakeholders.
She said “plans are being made to establish state-of-the-art cancer centres, with one in Abuja. Already, we have the structure in Kano and others in the six geo-political zones of the country. This will increase not only awareness on cancer, but accessibility to the facilities for women, especially our rural women”.
The Director General of NCWD, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, said breast and cervical cancers were the most common in Nigeria, resulting in over 8000 deaths annually.
Ekpere-Eta added that the alarming figure required intense sensitisation to encourage women to go for screening and for early treatment of the disease.
She noted that “the good news is that with early detection, breast cancer is treatable. Cervical cancer on the other hand, can be prevented by vaccination, using the HPV vaccine”.
The wife of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mrs Alanyingi Sylva, advised women and girls to make themselves available for a test as early detection of cancer disease would ensure prevention and treatment.
Highlights of the event included a cancer talk, free screening for both breast and cervical cancer.
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