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Friday, 21 November, 2008 12:43 pm
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| Nigerian Women & Cervical Cancer |
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| Written by Odimegwu Onwumere | ||||||
| Wednesday, 11 June 2008 | ||||||
     But how we abandon our women, sometimes to their fate, doesn’t add importance and appeal to the heart. Nigerian women suffer from one form of humiliations and intimidations to another in our society. We give our women to early marriage and often subject them to poor nutritional status, while the man enjoys himself with his concubines or his friends outside the matrimonial home at the best bars and hotels in the society? PACA observes that over 500,000 deaths of women Nigeria records yearly is caused by maternal mortality. Obstetricians and gynecologists warn about the ravaging cervical cancer that is predominant among Nigerian women. But how many of us are informed about this scourge? Infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and sexually transmitted infections are endemic in Nigeria, but the incidence of a woman’s early marriage has been pointed accusing finger by medical experts as the arch-cause of cervical cancer. The Nigerian government is yet to recognize that cervical cancer that affects women is a serious problem, yet the victims are on the increase. Even when the world is combating new health cases that are affecting women, our nation seems to be on the “who cares” lane. PACA has noted that this cancer is the commonest that affect women in the northern part of the country. While accounts say that over 500, 000 women die of maternity mortality, cervical cancer is said to be responsible for 300, 000 deaths among women annually in the universe. And the developing countries chronicle eighty percent of the deaths. Wonderful! Before, it was breast cancer (that scourge?) that Nigerians knew that women die so much of. But cervical cancer is described as the unrepentant cause of death in women between 45-65 years of age in Nigeria in recent times. This disease has been accused to be dominating 60-75 percent of women who live in the rural area. And when these women contract this cancer, they don’t have access to good healthcare. The whip that broke the Carmel’s back PACA has noted is that, about two years back, cervical cancer patients were identified by the smell that oozes from them when they enter the hospital for consultation. While Nigeria perhaps focuses on HIV, PACA learnt that cervical cancer in comparable to something more than HIV. Poet Against Child Abuse is advising, mostly women, to often go for medical checks. We are appealing to the federal and state and local governments to see to the plight of the Nigerian masses who can’t afford a medical trip abroad. We are also appealing that they should do something, very urgent, about the hike in hospital bills in Nigeria. The government should equip Nigerian hospitals – privately owned or otherwise – to meet the standard abroad. Odimegwu Onwumere, poet and author,is the Founder, Poet Against Child Abuse (PACA),Rivers State. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  Quote this article on your site | Views: 503 | Print | E-mail
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