Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Prof. Oliver Ezechi, has said 28 women die daily of cervical cancer in the country.
Addressing an event to check the scourge among girls and women yesterday in Lagos, Ezechi identified vaccination gaps, poor awareness, cultural issues and screening as some of the challenges militating against successful containment of the disease.
Insisting that the ailment is preventable, the NIMR official advised that matters relating to women should be taken seriously, saying if a family loses a mother, it is completely disorganised.
He stressed the need to vaccinate young girls and screen women to bridge the gaps.
Professor of Global Health in the Department of Behavioral Health Science and Health Education at Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice, United States, Juliet Iwelunmnor, noted: “We can end cervical cancer with Nigerian girls leading the way. We have teams from the six geo-political zones.
If we want to end the ailment, we need to hear from everybody. Our goal is to get many girls vaccinated and more women screened. We also need the men too as allies.”
In a similar vein, Consultant Haematologist, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Nwokwu Emmanuel, submitted: “We are working with all partners to ensure cervical cancer ends in Nigeria.
It is preventable and no woman should die of cancer. Government is working on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.
Last week, we just concluded a national plan on the prevention of cancer of the cervix. We want to ensure that Nigeria joins WHO (World Health Organisation) so that by 2030, cancer of the cervix would be eradicated in Nigeria.”
