The Gombe State Government says an NGO, Amen Healthcare and Empowerment Foundation, is supporting it on the training of medical and health workers on the control of cervical and breast cancer.
Alhaji Haruna Ali-Kwadon, the overseeing Executive Secretary, State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Thursday.
Ali-Kwadon said the training would be conducted across the 11 local government areas of the state and the participants are expected to educate women attending healthcare facilities and those in the rural communities.
According to him, breast and cervical cancers claim so many lives; hence the need to tackle it.
“We have an NGO supporting us, originally they came to support us on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and they are now in for cancer prevention programme.
“After the training, the health workers are to meet with the rural women, educate them on how to conduct the screening of cancer and identify suspected cases.
“This will guide them to identify the signs of the cancers at early stages for better management,’’ the executive secretary said.
Mrs Rita Oguntoyinbo, the founder and President of the foundation, told NAN that the foundation was fully funded by END Fund to assist Gombe state in control of NTDs.
According to her, fighting cancer is a collective responsibility and all hands must be on deck.
She said that apart from the healthcare programme, the organisation would soon commence an empowerment programme aimed at alleviating the suffering of the less privileged.
(NAN)
