5000 women receive free cervical cancer treatment in Anambra
Health

5000 women receive free cervical cancer treatment in Anambra

…Cervical cancer is a preventable, 90 per cent curable if detected early – Women told

Over 5,000 women are to benefit from free secondary cervical cancer screening and treatments project in Anambra State.

Wife of Anambra State Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo made the disclosure at the Flag off of the six months Cervical Cancer Prevention and Elimination  Project,  in Awka.

The project, an initiative of the Governor’s wife is in collaboration with the Clinton Health Access initiative (CHAI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

She identified lack of screening procedure, unreliable diagnostic tools and late presentation of cases, as some of the factors contributing to high  fatality rate of the disease.

“Experts and studies have shown that if diagnosed early, cervical cancer can be treated and managed.

“This is why we are collaborating with the WHO and CHAI to flag off this campaign that will provide free cervical cancer screening and treatments for over 5000 women in the state.

“We are optimistic that this six months campaign will eradicate and lower the burden of cervical cancer in the state.

“We will ensure that every woman has access these services  and we also urge women in the communities to come out and get tested and treated, “she said.

Also speaking, Dr Adewale Olusegun, CHAI representative, said they had provided materials for Cervical Cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

“We are also providing technical support in terms of training of healthcare workers to identify cancerous lesions, and we will be monitoring the project in the state.

“This partnership is to help us meet the Cervical Cancer Elimination target by 2030, ” Olusegun said.

 Dr Adamu Abdul-Nasir, State Coordinator, WHO, commended the state government for providing its counterpart funding and political will to fight the disease in the state.

“Anambra is one of the few leading states committed to remitting their counterpart funding. For this project , it is about N57 million. WHO provided N37 million while the state government promptly released N9.2million.

“We are going to hand over consumables to the state government, we will support training of personnel as well as provide technical support in terms of screening and treatments, ” he said.

In his remarks, Dr Afam Obidike, state’s Commissioner for Health, said the state government was committed to championing the fight against the killer disease.

“Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. It’s also 90 per cent curable if detected early and adequately treated.

“The state’s teaching hospital, three general hospitals and about six primary healthcare centres will provide the pilot programme of the cervical cancer elimination campaign, ” Obidike said.

At the occasion, Mrs Soludo was conferred with ‘Ambassador for Cervical Cancer Elimination in Anambra’ in recognition of her relentless advocacy and support for the  fight against cancer.

Kindly Leave a Comment