First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, has promised that the Future Assured Programme, FAP, which is her initiative, would enter into partnership with the Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora, OCI Foundation and the Nigerian Cancer Society, NCS, among other stakeholders to reduce the high rate of mortality from cancer in the country.
Flagging off the Arm Our Youth, ArOY Anti-Cancer Health Campaign organised by the OCI Foundation with the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, yesterday in Abuja, she said “It is important to ensure that we do everything possible to reduce the rate of mortality associated with cancer especially cervical.”
Mrs. Buhari, who was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, informed that FAP has remained active in creating awareness, holding screening sessions, and making referrals where necessary.
“My Future Assured initiative has been at the forefront of this campaign over the years, creating awareness, screening and making referrals across the country.
“This campaign has reached thousands of members including those in hard to reach areas. I intend to do more and partner with more organisations such as Nigerian Cancer Society and OCI Foundation until we overcome the negative health outcomes associated with cancer,” she stressed.
The First Lady, who reiterated her commitment in the fight against all forms of cancer, called on every stakeholder to exact more efforts in awareness creation amongst the citizens, adding that they should come up with new ideas such as this cascade campaign to secondary schools.
In his welcome address, the Director General of NYSC, Major General Shuaibu Ibrahim noted that the partnership between the OCI Foundation and the NYSC would help in reducing medical tourism and conserve the hard-earned foreign currency of Nigerians.
General Ibrahim, who spoke through the Director of Corps Mobilisation in the agency, Mrs. Victoria Ango, commended the effects of OCI Foundation in creating awareness to enable Nigerian prevent or better manage the ailment.
The director general said that “the NYSC is far more determined than you can imagine to carry out the awareness to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.”
Explaining the essence of ArOY Anti-Cancer Health Campaign with NYSC, the President and Founder of OCI Foundation, Prof. Chris Ifediora, said it is an innovation to stem the scourge of breast and cervical cancers among Nigerians.
Ifediora said the campaign “primarily seeks to introduce anti-breast and anti-cervical cancer programmes into the NYSC’s orientation activities across Nigeria”, adding that “it also aims to include preventive teachings into the academic curriculum of all secondary schools in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT before the end of 2025.”
While informing that the programme would commence with the Batch A of the 2022 corps members, he said the Foundation had trained over 95 per cent of the personnel needed from the NYSC and NCS across the country, adding that the training, which is ongoing, is free and open to all interested Nigerians.
