Cancer: Kwara screens 1,151 women

The Kwara State government has hinted that it has screened no fewer than 1,151 women and another 807 individuals for breast and cervical cancer, respectively, in the last quarter of 2024.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, disclosed this at an inter-ministerial press briefing in Ilorin on Tuesday, saying: “All suspicious breast lesions had Fine Needle Aspiration for Cytology (FNAC) done.”

She added that all other individuals with diagnosed cases were directed to the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH), Ilorin, for proper medical attention from experts.

According to her, between October 21 and December 12, 2024, 1,151 women and 807 other individuals were screened for breast and cervical cancers, respectively.

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She said that the ministry, under Project 10m, screened 102,452 Kwarans for hypertension and administered free drugs to them.

She reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the delivery of adequate and qualitative healthcare services across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.

The Commissioner also pledged that the present administration, under the watch of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, would do everything possible to ensure that government facilities across the state serve their purposes in various communities.

She disclosed that the government is committed to providing qualitative and affordable healthcare services to every Kwaran and equally creating an enabling environment for all health workers.

El-Imam, who disclosed that the government had embarked on the comprehensive renovation of both primary and secondary healthcare facilities across the state, revealed that they would soon be equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment to ensure that those facilities adequately serve members of the public.

Highlighting the ministry’s achievements within the quarter under review, El-Imam explained that the ministry implemented Project 10m across the 16 local governments, adding that the project ensures free screening for hypertension and diabetes patients, distribution of drugs, and proper sensitisation of Kwarans on two major non-communicable diseases: hypertension and diabetes.