BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Nigerians have been warned on the danger of having wrong notions about cancer and COVID-19 with an advice that rather than living in fear, the people should observe rules of thumb by engaging in healthy lifestyles and going for routine medical checks.
The advice was given by Healthy Living Project, a frontline non-profit making organization that focuses on health and social development of citizens, in an exclusive interview at the sidelines of its outreaches held in parts of Ekiti State recently.
Premising its advice on the widespread apathy to health care within the Nigerian society, the organisation said that late detection of all kinds of cancer and the COVID-19 disease may be life-threatening, while early diagnosis may present high hope of survival.
The Founder of HELP, Tolani Balogun, who listed the activities of the group during its outreaches in Ekiti to include pelvic floor dysfunction session where constipation, faecal incontinence, urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, vaginal care, pain during sexual intercourse, and prostate cancer awareness session where causes of prostate, diagnosis, treatment and management were focused, harped on the need for nations of the world to prioritize the health needs of their citizens for growth and development.
Balogun said, “Our objectives as an organization are empowering individual through learning process.
Promoting healthy lifestyle; being able to identify symptoms around diseases; seeking for help and basic knowledge that can promote general wellness and contribute to healthy living among the citizens, as well as training individuals to be advocates of health.
“During our outreaches in Ekiti, we had talks on health and distributed COVID-19 prevention materials at Christ Girls School, Ado Ekiti; Olorunfemi Balogun Memorial School, Iyin Ekiti; Eyemote Comprehensive High School, Iyin Ekiti; and Egirioke High School, Iyin Ekiti where we interacted with hundreds of teenage girls in attendance.
“The principals and the staff members of the schools were very helpful in coordinating the girls during the programme. We reached girls in the four secondary schools and supported them with menstrual hygiene materials, including sanitary pads, tissues, toilet soaps and sanitizers.
“There was a training on COVID-19 transmission and protective measures by Chief Abike Balogun. Training was also done on effective hand washing techniques where it was emphasised that to cough or sneeze, cover your mouth with bent elbow and not hands; avoid touching of eyes, nose and mouth; limit social gathering and time spent in crowded places; and avoid contact with sick individual while you clean and disinfect frequently, especially touched objects and surfaces.
“For women, we had cervical cancer awareness session. Lectures were given and literatures were distributed to all the women present. The topics that were covered during the training include the female reproductive system, what is cervical cancer, causes of cervical cancer, the risk factors, symptoms, screening process, treatments, and quizzes on women anatomy.”
