Organisation empowers 5699 women
A non-governmental organisation, Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), has equipped 5,699 women with social development skills to challenge entrenched socio-cultural and traditional practices inhibiting their progress.
The executive director of the organisation, Sabina Idowu-Osehobo, expressed concern that a lot of women were discriminated against, marginalised and excluded from life transforming opportunities.
She stressed that women empowerment had always been an integral part of LAPO’s poverty reduction efforts.
Idowu-Osehobo said the organization was committed to dismantling structures and processes that encouraged discrimination, injustice and violence against women, adding that gender-based discrimination permeated all cultures and often manifested in laws, policies and practices of institutions.
She said that for more than two decades, LAPO had been in the forefront in bringing gender issues to wider attention, promoting legal and policy reforms and supporting projects that empower women economically.
She advised parents to avoid every form of discrimination against their female children, arguing that a child’s sex became irrelevant when equal opportunities for advancement both educationally and otherwise were made available to all.
The organisation, she also said, through its Campaign for Cancer Control (LAPO-C4) initiative, has screened and sensitised 12.4 million women across the country on cancer control between November 2016 and May 2017.
The two-year project, according to the organisation, was aimed at reducing cancer related deaths in Nigeria with focus on prevention and early detection through mass awareness creation, screening, and referrals for treatment, Idowu-Osehobo said.
“A breakdown of the figures indicates that 3,409 persons were screened for various cancer infections, 580 referred for treatment while 12,362,957 community members were sensitised on cancer control during the period,” a statement by the NGO read.
The LAPO boss noted that almost 102,000 new cases of cancer occurred annually in Nigeria with over 60% in women due to breast and cervical cases.
She traced the main barriers inhibiting cancer control in Nigeria to poor access to screening services and inadequate awareness, noting that with early detection, over 80% of cancer cases were preventable and 40% of the disease eradicated by changes in lifestyle.
The executive director, therefore, implored women, particularly those of child bearing age against toying with their health. She urged them to ascertain their health status regularly through periodic medical check-ups, as breast and cervical cancer posed serious threat to their lives.