The Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), joins the global community in marking this year’s World Cancer Day with an awareness summit that drew experts from the medical field.
READ ALSO: Breast Cancer: Foundation calls for establishment of functional PHCs
The World Cancer Day Awareness Summit which held at the Army Headquarters Command Officers Mess Abuja, with the theme: “Reducing the Scourge of Cancer in Nigeria” was aimed at enlightening NAOWA members, personnel, as well as members of the public.
NAOWA, led by its President, Mrs. Mariya Lagbaja undertook the project as part of its Cooperate Social Responsibility to bridge the gap in knowledge about the disease and to also debunk myths associated with the subject of cancer.
The Special Guest of Honour at the event and the Army Chief of Administration, Major General Jimmy Akpor said, “The Nigerian Army will continue to support personnel and their families, to treat those with different cancers, promote positive behaviours aimed at preventing and controlling cancer.”
This according to him is in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s command philosophy to transform the Nigerian Army into a Well-trained, equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment.
He made a clarion call on the importance of raising awareness in the barracks community about cancer and its preventions while calling for regular screening and early detection which he said are key to the management of cancer.
“These services are readily available in Nigerian Army medical facilities, I urge everyone to undertake regular preventive screening among other preventive measures as highlighted by speakers at the event. The Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association President and her members have been engaging in periodic Excercises which have been helping in preventing cancer and the overall wellbeing of members of the association.
“The most common kinds of caners are preventable, detectable, controllable and curable through screening and vaccination, however because of late presentation often due to ignorance, self medication, Socio-ethnic factors, religious beliefs and refusal to accept cancer diagnosis, the prognosis remain poor,” Major General Jimmy Akpor said.
NAOWA President, Mrs. Maria Lagbaja while speaking earlier said world cancer day is an opportunity to rally the global community in raising awareness and to advocate for bridge in quality healthcare.
She highlighted the gaps in healthcare to include limited access to quality healthcare facilities, financial restrictions faced by patients and the limited awareness regarding the disease.
“This lack of awareness she stressed has prevented many people from seeking early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
“This call to action is a testament to the devastating global effect of cancer and the need to bridge the gap in cancer management in order to prevent further death and disability. Our purpose is to raise awareness avocate for quality healthcare access and to celebrate the successes made in combating this disease.
“The submit was organised to raise awareness and to contribute to the efforts of other international and local organisations, these efforts are aimed at ensuring that everyone regardless background and financial status is equipped with the necessary knowledge on early diagnosis of cancer,” she said.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Cancer Society, Dr Adamu Umar, in a remark at the event said NAOWA having advantage of wide reach, can take the awareness farther as he advocated for cancer screening centres across all formations of the Nigerian Army.
The World Cancer Day Awareness Summit featured lectures on cancer prevention, management and treatment, question and answer segments and testimonies of cancer survivors.
A Lecture delivered by Dr. Uchechukwu Niyi Shagaya titled “Reducing the scourge of cancer in Nigeria” defined Cancer as a group of numerous diseases that can affect any part of the body with risk factors including physical and chemical.
Professor Abubakar Bello also delivered a lecture on ways to identify and detect various kinds of cancer.
Present at the event were the wife of Minister of Defence, Hajiya Magajiya Badaru, DEPOWA President, Mrs Ogogo Musa, Representatives of the NOWA President, representative of POWA President among others.
Comments are closed.