Cervical Cancer: Inspiration of NGO was to save lives – Ifediora, President OCI Foundation

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The founder and President of an International Non Governmental Organization, Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora, OCI Foundation, Professor Chris Ifediora has said that what motivated him to pursue the fight against cervical cancer is the desire to save lives as the ailment is preventable.

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In a chat with the Australian based medical doctor, Professor Ifediora explained that during his school days at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awake, Anambra State, and as a young doctor, that he saw young ladies lost their lives on the account of cervical cancer.

“What inspired you to start an NGO dedicated to cervical cancer awareness and treatment, and what has the journey been like so far?”

“The inspiration to start an NGO with the focus on cervical cancer treatment, was fairly straightforward times in Nigeria as a medical student, as a young doctor, medical professional you know, exposed me to the realities of this scourge. I saw first hand, young ladies who lost their lives early for something that was completely preventable.” “At the time there were no vaccines but also there was very little knowledge. Even now there are vaccines but the knowledge remains very little. We felt it’s something we can tackle, because by merely giving the information people need to survive… you know it requires some resources, but also if we can do that then we can save lives.
I remember back then in LUTH, we lost a woman, I think 42 at the time to cervical cancer, quite pretty, quite young…an Igbo lady if I can remember well, I remember the daughters crying… wailing in tears, and I thought to myself, this doesn’t have to happen… and that’s just one of thousands that happen every year….So the foundation…the only thing we did differently was to find a way that will make the cancer messages wide reaching, sustainable, all encompassing, cost effective, and of course, backed with technology. And that’s what the foundation brought to the table.”

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Professor Ifediora also gave an insight into efforts to enlighten Nigerians especially young people on the need for early detection through tests.

“Something quite unique and different and reaching a generation, a demography that basically not thought about young teenagers and young adults across Nigeria, which we have done by going to put an extra curriculum, working on the national assembly to get that done, and also working on the NYSC to make sure it reaches young Nigerians across board, hundreds of thousands, if not millions every year. That’s what we’ve brought to the table. Though the journey so far has been great, of course mixed back like everything you’ll expect.

He said the NGO had recorded significant successes especially in Anambra State and that it’s collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC scheme.
“Of course we’ve had success in schools across Anambra since 2019, and some success in schools where the NYSC function. Of course, with the NYSC itself it’s a big success because it’s been sustainable since 2022. The down side is that, we have a law passed, finished at the national assembly that’s yet to be signed into law and yet to be implemented, which we’re urging the president, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to look into and the national assembly to re pass the bill and have it signed so we can save lives.”

“Cervical cancer is a significant health concern, especially in developing countries. What do you believe are the biggest challenges in preventing and treating this disease?”

Responding to this question, Professor Ifediora, a practicing family physician stated that the challenges of cervical cancer prevention are multifaceted.

“The biggest factors in tackling cervical cancer is multifactorial, you know, it’s multifaceted. It’s not just one single problem. It’s a lot, you know, but in my view, the biggest one, the lowest hanging fruit in this is awareness.
A lot of people don’t know what’s wrong. Awareness on the preventive knowledge. Many people don’t know it can be passed on through sexual intercourse, especially in the early years, those who start early, you know, in the early teens, that’s the biggest risk.”

“Simple protection with condom can help go a long way, you know, knowledge, delaying intercourse till marriage or at least till, you know, the girl is older. That’s the first thing, you know. Also, poor awareness on the symptoms, you know, many don’t know.
This cancer doesn’t really give itself away until it’s advanced, you know, so knowing what to look out for and, you know, like bleeding during intercourse, inter menstrual bleeding and stuff like that. They don’t know that. So again, empowering our people with that knowledge, knowing how to prevent it, you know, the vaccines are available, not shying away from the vaccines.”

“You know, the vaccine hesitancy across our country is stunning. It’s unbelievable, you know, letting them know that these vaccines are there to save their lives and not to kind of, you know, tie them, you know, on different fetish-induced or fetish-propagated, British propaganda. So that’s also another thing, and also seeking treatment early and knowing where to go.
You know, many end up in the herbariums or in the religious institutions or religious homes, and knowing to look for doctors and the kind of doctors to look for and where to look for them. You know, these are the big challenges we have. And, of course, there are other ones, you know, like the financing to provide a vaccine standard for the Gavi Alliance, for the government that has worked on this to make sure that the vaccines become available, but also making them, you know, affordable.
It’s supposed to be free, but I understand it’s not entirely free, so making sure those who need them get them. The treatment facilities, you know, screening, of course, making them affordable, but also treatments, you know, quality treatments, treatment centers across the country are needed. You know, yeah, and a few other things, all right, the advocacy, the policymaking.

Chris Ifediora Profile 2025 Jan

Again, I talk about the OCA Foundation’s program that has, you know, kind of put a very simple tool of putting this in the curriculum. That’s been done, you know, but we need the political energy to make it law and kind of be made across the country. You know, thanks to the Anambra State Government, the only state so far that has this in the curriculum.
We need this across the country, and it’s very simple. So the OCI Foundation will handle the logistics of implementation, but we need the law part, so I hope the media puts this across and draws the attention of the powers that be to get to know this.”

“How does your NGO support early detection and prevention, and what initiatives have been most successful in reaching at-risk populations?”

On early detection and prevention, Professor Ifediora explained that his NGO, OCI Foundation had been at the forefront of that.

“Well, at the OCI Foundation International, we are at the forefront of early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. What we are doing, obviously, our major attention is on knowledge. Like I mentioned earlier, the biggest problem we have is the poor awareness level.
Our research reveals that it remains poor, even among those who should know, and most importantly among the most vulnerable, which are the young adults, you know, teenagers, mid-teens to late teens. So we’ve tackled that. We don’t just talk, we walk our talks.”

“So we have done a lot to put this in the curriculum of, you know, senior secondary schools, a number of states, and of course, we are doing our best to make sure it’s across the country. We need the political class to work with us. We need the Nigerian president, it’s at his table to sign that into law.
We’ve also come up with an app, the Cervibreast mobile phone application that will help enlighten Nigerians, you know, to take the advantage of early detection. And in the app, we have reminders that will help them make sure, you know, they don’t forget to screen. And also for men involved also, even they will get the reminders to tell their women they can get the information.”

“So the app is one thing, the curriculum is another thing, engaging the legal aspect of things, another thing. And of course, we have regular programs across the country. Beyond the awareness, we also are doing something concrete on ground.
We actually are championing the Guyanacula project, which helps screen for this cancer early on. We offer this free. We have a center in partnership with the primary health care board, you know, we have the primary health care board where we offer these screenings.
Of course, we have, again, poor awareness means poor patronage, you know, but we are there. There are technical issues with our equipments, but that’s been sorted. So this is what we do.
These are the initiatives, the Guyanacula project, the Cervibreast app, the awareness in schools through the Amoy Youth Anti-Cancer Program, the legislative bill, and the multiple other programs that we do.”

“What role do you think education and public awareness play in reducing the prevalence of cervical cancer, and how does your organization address theses areas?”

On the role education and public awareness, the family physician described both as the biggest factor.

“Our education, in my view, is the biggest factor here. Education, both formal and informal, public awareness goes with that as well. It has a huge role to play, and we are at the forefront of that.
Again, you know, we are partnering with schools across a number of states, in conjunction with the university government, where this program is included in the school curriculum. It’s taught across the schools as part of the civic education subject. We hold annual quiz competitions to make sure there’s engagement with the program.”

“In fact, the final, the grand final, comes up around February 4th this year. It holds every February 4th or thereabouts. So that’s about education, formal education, but also informal education.
We encourage these people, the students we teach, the teachers, to talk about this in their homes, to their moms, to their sisters, to their aunties, to their grandparents, and that’s a bit informal, but still education. We also partner with the NYSC, which gives us access to hundreds of thousands of Nigerians. It’s on a regular basis, millions in a year.

NYSC, OCI

We also empower them with this education-wise, where they get empowered themselves, and they pass the message on to others as well, and take these messages to the schools and to the constituencies or the localities where they are deployed to. So that’s part of what the UCF Foundation is doing to raise education and public awareness. Of course, we have the app, the survey-based mobile phone application.”

“We have some jingles that play across some stations, and this is what we do, all right? Again, we call on the government to help in finalizing the law we’ve put out there so that Nigerian lives will be saved, Nigerian women will be empowered in a sustainable way. It costs nothing to the government. It costs nothing to the institutions in charge.
You know, what we want is the political energy and goodwill to get this ruled out, you know, as soon as possible.”

“As a medical doctor, how do you balance your clinical responsibilities with running an NGO, as well as family and what advice would you give to others looking to make a difference in public health?”

Onyebuchi Chris Ifediora made it clear that striking a balance between his official work as a family physician, running the NGO and then his family was not easy.

“The balance between running the clinical, taking on clinical responsibilities with the NGO and with family, of course it’s not easy, it’s not easy but it’s doable. You know, I firmly believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way, but the main thing is I’m blessed with very solid people around me, starting with my wife who is the Vice President of the OCI Foundation, Mrs. Nkem Ifediora, she’s been excellent, you know, and she, a lot of credit to what we see today go to her because she holds the family front, not just for the kids and for supporting the family but also peace of mind at home.

OCI, wife

Supporting the dream that drives the OCI Foundation, believing in the whole project, to me that’s the biggest factor, and of course we’re blessed with teams, you know, across the three countries we exist in, Nigeria, Australia and the UK.

Wife, OCI

In Nigeria particularly we have people who have championed this program, they are the reasons why we have the program year in, year out, on multiple fronts, so we delegate stuff, alright, so that’s the biggest factor, but from the support we have from these people, we’re able to delegate, alright, we have people on the ground who do different things, all we do at the top is just the governance and providing the resources needed, so that makes it easy, alright, that means the pressure are not directly on our shoulders.
“And of course the clinical part is my first calling, alright, as a doctor that’s my primary mission, that’s not compromised, you know, we work, we have a team that kind of, you know, projects the program, delivers and then we have a governance team, you know, that makes sure things move smoothly, so in my view, it’s tasking, but we have the will to get it done, we have the courage to get these things done, and that’s what matters, the sincerity of purpose, for those who are looking to make a difference in public health, alright, just, you know, plan, be clear in your mission, if your mission is to work for the public, let it be that, you know, don’t see it as a money making venture or an opportunity to exploit the weak, or exploit some, you know, financial stuff, if that happens, that will fail, and of course there will be issues, you know, but if you are sincere in what you do, and commit to the programs you sign up to, things will be easy, and, you know, and delegate to this, and always research into what you do, even if you cannot do it yourself, you can get people, no matter how small the research is, because that’s one big difference between the OCR Foundation and many other organizations, because we commit ourselves into research, we’re able to have programs that can be easily optimized, you know, with very little money, you can do things that would have much higher impact than if you don’t research into what you do, you can do it more smoothly, more efficiently, wider impact, more sustainably, you know, so, that’s it, thanks for the opportunity to respond to these questions, and keep doing what you do, God bless you.”

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