Press Release on Prevention of Cancer and Upscale of Nutrition by Our Lady of Perpetual Help Initiative

World Cancer Day, organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and celebrated each year on 4 February, is an opportunity to rally the international community to end the injustice of preventable suffering from cancer.

This year’s theme, “I am and I will” acknowledges that everyone has the capacity to address the cancer burden. We can work together to reduce cancer risk factors. We can overcome barriers to early diagnosis, treatment and palliative care. We can work together to improve cancer control and achieve global targets to reduce premature mortality from cancer and Non Communicable Diseases.

Good health is essential to sustained economic and social development and poverty reduction. Access to needed health services is crucial for maintaining and improving health for the people at the grassroot. According to the Sustainable Development Goal slogan of Leave No one behind, Universal Health Coverage is ensuring that everybody have access to needed health services including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation of sufficient quality while ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.  Universal Health Coverage has become a major goal of Health Reform in many countries and a priority objective for World Health Organisation.

Hence the World Cancer Day aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer, and pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Initiative is established to carry out advocacies on Health, Gender, Environment and Peace Building to hard-to-reach, disadvantaged and socially excluded vulnerable groups in our society. Our frame work is designed to meet our vision which is a world where everyone especially women, youths and children to be empowered to utilize their potentials to full, rewarding and sustainable lives.

We therefore join all health professionals, bodies and advocates to commemorate this day and educate everybody on the seriousness of Cancer.

Early Detection remains Key to surviving cancer. Visit your health facility and talk to your health workers. If they do not have the equipment they will surely refer you to a centre.

Eat right, drink more water, less beverage drinks (alcohol + soft drinks), eat more fruits, more vegetables, get vaccinated against (hepatitis & human papilloma virus-HPV) that way we will all live a more sustainable healthy lives.

Signed by: 

Loretta Ahuokpeme

Executive Director

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Initiative