The Executive Secretary, Stable Health Initiative (SHI), Dr. Abia Nzelu, has stressed the need for concerted cancer awareness in Nigeria.
Speaking in Lagos, yesterday, at the World Health Day (WHD) event, the ocular oncologist said, “because cancer is not infectious, it is difficult to appreciate; hence, the need to create more awareness on it.”

At the event, the Chairman, Committee Encouraging Concerted Philanthropy (CECP), Chief Olu Falomo, urged the media to help create awareness on the free medical scheme of SHI and CECP.

His words: “Over the coming months, CECP will be trying to get as many people as possible to register for and benefit from this initiative. This shall be done by means of special Tuesdays known as GoodTuesdays or GivingTuesdays.

“All the remaining Tuesdays of the year has been allotted to different professionals and personalities.”According to Nzelu, the target is to deploy one free ambulance for every 100,000 people, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in underserved regions of the world, with Nigeria as its take-off location.

The free emergency ambulance service would ameliorate the burden of acute emergencies, now compounded by COVID-19, she added. One of such ambulances, a mobile clinic, was launched at the WHD event. The organisers disclosed that the Lagos State government also donated one, which cost about $1 million.

Registration for free medical check is online and open to all persons without discrimination, added the Project Coordinator, Dr. Kin Egwuchim, who compered the event.

For illiterate and semi-literate individuals or societies, SHI is planning community outreach, so that the few educated people within can register them.

Goal of the initiative is prevention; hence the test. But Dr. Nzelu added: “We do not pray for emergencies, so we do not want 100,000 people to have emergencies. But that is the unique thing about this initiative.

“When you register, you will benefit from the preventive care. Anybody that registers will have access to the complementary preventive care and all that. You can have access to it at least once a year around your birthday. In case of an emergency, you will be able to have access to this. All you need do is just to give us a call.”