Former First Lady Urges Increased Synergies Against Cancer

Deaconess Omolewa Ahmed, the immediate past Fast Lady of Kwara State, has urged a wider collaboration among government and key stakeholders to fight cancer in Nigeria.

She made the call during an endurance walk with women and other organisations in Ilorin,on Saturday.

According to her, there is the need to scale up awareness and efforts to promote early testing and treatment among women.

This, she noted, will ensure the menace does not get to the mortality stage.

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The former first lady who identified breast and cervical cancer as a leading cause of death in Nigeria, said diagnosis is not a death sentence with the right information and approach.

She emphasised the need to take the cancer campaign to the grassroots to give “our mothers and girls hope”.

Omolewa said her foundation had taken a step further on the awareness campaign by involving Nollywood and called for more partnerships with key players in other sectors.

“This is why we embarked on the project to sponsor Diamond in the Sky, a movie that was inspired by me and produced and directed by Femi Adabayo and Kunle Afolayan respectively.”

“Through the LEAH foundation, we started the campaign in 2016 and built a hospital for screening and treatment.

“For me, this is a calling, a ministry and that is why it has survived beyond my stay in office as the first lady.

“I have lost people that were extremely close to me and I know this is what God wants me to do which explains the passion for the past 13 years. Awareness, screening and knowledge updates about breast and cervical cancer among women and girls is critical. This is why the HPV vaccines distributed by the federal government is timely”, she added.

She said the Forum of First Ladies Against Cancer which comprised former and serving governor wives, has been strong in advocating for more efforts to fight the scourge.

In her remarks, a Nollywood actress and one of the lead characters in the movie, Omowunmi Dada, said there is a need for a lot of support groups and systems for cancer victims.

“Many a time, those who have fought and survived breast and cervical cancer are those with these opportunities. For girls from nine years and above, the advice is for their parents to get them the cervical cancer vaccine and save a whole generation. Mothers and womens should go for testing early to kick cancer out.”

“The movie has already generated over 100,000 views in just a week and following the comments, more people are now aware about cancer and how to fight and survive it,” she submitted.