The wife of Kwara state governor and initiator of a non-government organisation (NGO), Life Empowered Anchors Hope (LEAH) Charity Foundation, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, has established three cervical and breast cancer screening centres in the state.

The three screening centres were located in Sobi Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Children Specialist Hopital, Centre, Igboro, Ilorin and Adewole Cottage Hospital, Ilorin.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the wife of the governor, represented by her Special Assistant on Administration and Strategy, Mr. Lanre Bello, said that cervical and breast cancer was a silent killer.

Mrs. Ahmed, who said that the screening exercise would  commence on May 24, across the area, added that the women would be attended to by medical personnel during week days only.

She said that deaths from the illness was as a result of ignorance and not really as a result of the effect of the illness, stressing that, “to be fore warned, is to be fore armed.

“It has become obvious that we lose a lot of our women to lack of appropriate education and awareness on the ways to avoid the deadly ailment. Lack of access to screening facilities also deny women the opportunity for life-saving interventions which science provides. This is a tide that the LEAH Charity Foundation is determined to stop by putting in place these cancer screening centres in the state.

She also said that the women would pay only N200 to access the service at the centres throughout the weekdays.

Mrs. Ahmed also said that the breast cancer screening programme was a pilot scheme, adding that all other districts in the state would benefit from it as assistance comes in from wealthy individuals and organisations. 

The wife of the  governor, who commended the complementary efforts of the Medical Women Association in the state on the exercise, solicited financial and material assistance like cancer screening facilities, especially mammogram machines, from corporate organisations and individuals towards successful implementation of the programme.