Ahead of the 16 days activism campaign on violence against women and girls, the National Council of Women Societies NCWS has requested for collaboration with the church of Jesus Christ Of letter day Saints to tackle some health challenges confronting women
The acting National President of the council, Mrs Geraldine Etuk, made the appeal during the courtesy visit of the first counselor of the young women general presidency and second counselor in the primary General presidency of the church, Tamara Runia and Tracy Browning respectively, to NCWS headquarters, on Wednesday in Abuja
Mrs Etuk who appreciated their visit to the council, noted that it was apt as it is coming at a period Nigerians are passing through difficult situations in the country.
She called on the representatives of the church to collaborate in the area of screening for early detection.
“We thank Almighty God for your visit which is coming at a time that coincidentally Nigerian Women and their families are passing through critical situations in their lives. Inflation has worsened the poverty index and basic necessities of life such as food, shelter and healthcare have become unaffordable”.
“Many in abject poverty are starving due to insecurity in the country which is preventing farmers from cultivating crops in their farms. As a result, Strengthening Families in Nigeria has become a difficult issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Recently floods in various parts of the country displaced many from their homes and a lot of them are yet to settle down so children are dying of malnutrition and women and elderly people are dying of hunger and lack of medical treatment.”
RAVAGING EFFECTS OF CANCER
According to Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), everyday 22 women die of cervical cancer and 32 new cases are diagnosed. The major reason for this high incidence and mortality include ignorance, poverty, lack of screening programs and inability of the women to pay for the tests, late presentation and unaffordable treatment costs and poor outcomes.
“There are 66 million women in Nigeria age between 15-64 and according to WHO to eliminate cancer by 2030, the Global strategy is to vaccinate 90% of women, screen 70% and treat 90% of cervical diseases.
“The Federal Government successfully started free vaccination October last year for girls 9-14 years, and to screen 70% of women 24 – 55 years which is about 46 million requires lots of help which only the government cannot do.
“We majorly rely on Philanthropists, NGOs and Humanitarian Organizations such and a few others to fund this but that is not enough. We wish we can screen more women through our partners.
“We highly appreciate the church for this glorious opportunity to visit us and to interact on the affairs of women and children of our beloved country.
“The life-touching Christ-like and humanitarian efforts of your organization are commendable and we look forward to how we can collaborate in addressing some of these issues affecting the women and children of Nigeria.
“We collaborated with your Church at the Strengthening Families Conference held at International Conference Centre Abuja between Tuesday June 21 and Wednesday June 22, this year.
In their separate remarks, Mrs Tamara and Tracy promised to key into the project and partner with NCWS to put smiles on the faces of the women, and to assist the children to catch their visions in actualizing their goals.
While commending the efforts put in place by NCWS to invest in women and children, they informed that they will work with the council to fight for the women and their rights which has been their focus .
An award of the tree of life was presented by the delegation to the Acting National President of the council, which, according to them, represent God’s love for humanity.