Kwara State First Lady and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Olufolake Abdulrazaq, has appealed to citizens to embrace government health initiatives, emphasising that early detection of cancer saves lives.
Mrs Abdulrazaq made the call while flagging off a free screening exercise organised to commemorate this year’s World Cancer Day.
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She also noted that the event was held in observance of the upcoming World Breast Cancer Awareness and World Liver Cancer Awareness months.
Mrs Abdulrazaq commended the state government’s continuous commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its people and urged citizens of the state to take full advantage of the free screening services being provided.
Also, Seun Ogunniyi, Chairman of the House Committee on Health and Nutrition, noted that cancers are preventable.
He encouraged citizens to proactively seek timely medical advice and actively participate in the health programs provided by the state government.
Earlier, in her welcome address, the Commissioner for Health, Amina Ahmed El-Imam, reaffirmed that cancer remains a global health threat.
She highlighted that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, while prostate and liver cancers disproportionately affect men.
The Commissioner also reiterated that the recently flagged-off multi-billion Naira ASR cancer centre by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq would improve government medical facilities, thereby helping to reduce the state’s cancer-related mortality rate.
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The event was collaboratively hosted at the Kwara State Banquet Hall by the Kwara State Ministry of Health in partnership with the Office of the First Lady, the Ajike People Support Centre, and Bio Ventures for Global Health.
