Date: 2014-11-30

Wife of the Kwara Governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed on Saturday in Okuta inaugurated a Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Centre for border communities of Baruten local government area of Kwara.

Mrs Ahmed, an initator of LEAH Charity Foundation, said the foundation had subsidized cancer screening fee for N200 to ensure high patronage of the centre.

The Kwara first lady urged the women in the border council to always go for a routine test in the centre for an early detection of the deadly disease.

According to him, breast and cervical cancer are only curable if they are detected early. “The only way to know if you have the disease is through a test. So I urge you to go for a routine checkup once in a year.

“Nobody is immune to cancer. It is neither a disease of the rich, nor the elite. It is common among the women especially those that engage in sexual intercourse.

“Cancer is not an incurable disease, but could result to death if not detected at its early stage”, she said.

The Kwara first however applauded the Baruten local government council for donating a new building as the screening centre. This, she asserted had demonstrated the love of the council for its people.

“LEAH will put health personnel in the centre that will attend to you. They will teach you how to detect bump in your breast”, she added.

Mrs Ahmed stated that biotherapy for vulnerable women in the centre three to four days in a month.

Meanwhile, the first lady has empowered hundreds of women in the council with items worth millions of naira. The women, who cut across the eleven political wards in the council area, received items such as grinding machines, hair driers, sewing machines, bale of clothes and money to start up a business among others. She explained that the gesture was to provide a means of livelihood for the rural women.

Mrs Ahmed added that more dividends of democracy still awaiting the people if the present All Progressive Congress (APC) government was returned in 2015.

Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of the council, Mallam Mohammed Omar-Bio lauded the various health programme of the first lady.

He explained that the council was not unaware of her effort of distributing eye glasses, free drugs and medical treatment for children and adults in the state.

He noted that it was in the recognition and to complement the good effort of the first lady that the council had constructed the cervical and breast cancer centre.