Air Force provides free cancer treatment for women IDPs

From May 16 to 20, more than 40 women from various Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno benefited from a one-week free cancer screening/treatment programme conducted by the Nigerian Air Force. The exercise was held at the newly established NAF Cancer Screening Centre at 109 Composite Group in Maiduguri. It fulfilled the pledge earlier made by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to extend healthcare delivery to less privileged, particularly in IDPs camps. The screening which covered examinations for cancer of the breast, cervix, ovaries, colon and liver, was also extended to NAF personnel and their dependants.

The screening methods used included colposcopy, ultra-sound, mammogram and laboratory test for various tumor markers. The screening and treatment were conducted by NAF medical personnel, who had earlier been trained in-house in furtherance of the capacity-building drive initiated by NAF leadership. Those detected with early stages of cancer of the cervix were promptly treated, free of charge, using colonoscopy. The beneficiaries also underwent examinations for other key
aspects of their health status at no cost. The Chief of Air Staff has reassured the IDPs and other members of the public that the exercise will be a continuous one.