ResQ Health has launched a significant initiative to provide free breast cancer screenings for 500 women across Nigeria. The campaign, in collaboration with Marigold Hospital in Surulere, Lagos, kicked off on World Radiography Day, where over 60 women received screenings on the first day. The theme of the initiative, “Promoting the Profession,” aims to raise awareness about early cancer detection and the critical role radiographers play in healthcare.
Bayo Oke, Founder and Managing Director of ResQ Health Africa, shared concerning statistics on breast cancer prevalence in Nigeria, where the disease accounts for 18.1% of all cancer-related deaths.
Nigeria has one of the highest breast cancer mortality rates in the world, particularly in Africa. Oke emphasized that early detection is crucial for reducing fatalities and clarified that ResQ Health’s CSR initiative aims to make screenings accessible, especially for women in vulnerable communities.
The initiative addresses the financial barriers many women face in accessing mammograms, which typically cost around ₦30,000—often unaffordable for women, particularly in low-income areas. ResQ Health is offering the screenings free of charge and plans to continue this effort across various communities in the long term.
Oke also addressed the broader healthcare challenges in Nigeria, highlighting the financial and infrastructural constraints within the sector.
He expressed concern over the ongoing brain drain affecting Nigerian healthcare workers, citing low wages, poor working conditions, and a lack of adequate infrastructure as key factors driving this trend. He stressed the need for urgent reforms to improve the working environment for Nigerian healthcare professionals and enhance the country’s healthcare infrastructure to prevent a potential crisis.
CREDIT: Allneeds, THE NATION
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