The President of Breast Care International (BCI), Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, has stated that Ghana will be a cancer-free-independent nation if the youth, especially the senior high school students, are well educated on the cancer diseases at their early stages, and therefore called on all stakeholders to make it a reality.
She said, through seminars and screening exercises, the youth, who are the future generation, will be equipped with the knowledge of the diseases and be cancers ambassadors propagating the message to dispel the perception that the disease is not curable and are contracted through witchcraft, hence the need for a public support in the campaign against cancer.
Dr. Wiafe Addai, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Peace and Love Hospitals in Kumasi and Accra, said this during the maiden edition of the annual Breast Care International Quiz held on Wednesday February 28, 2018 at Kumasi Anglican High School in Kumasi.
The quiz, initiated by the Ashanti Regional Minister Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, forms part of activities to mark this year and subsequent Ghana’s Independence Day celebrations on March 6, was organized by the Breast Care International and Peace and Love hospital, in collaboration with the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) and the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The competition, sponsored by Roche, a pharmaceutical giant, and ARCC, started with twelve senior high schools drawn from the Kumasi Metro saw three schools, Kumasi Girls’ Senior High School (KUGIS), T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School (AMAS) and KNUST Senior High School competing in the finals.
Exhibiting tremendous knowledge in breast cancer, T.I. Ahmadiyya defied stiff opposition from their counterparts and emerged as the overall winner with 107 points, followed by KNUST and KUGIS, with 96 and 90 points respectfully.
“Ghana is politically and economically free but in health wise, we not free. So there is a need to initiate a programme that will make the nation, if not free from diseases like the cancers, can be minimized. That is why the BCI is organizing such event to impart knowledge to the students who will grow up with them,” she said.
“This quiz will afford the students the opportunity to learn more about the cancer diseases, by the time they finish school, they will be abreast of the ins and outs of the disease. They will be in better position to educate their peers, family members and where ever they are, on the cancer diseases. The misconception about the disease like been caused by witchcraft, the disease has no cure, among others, will be dispelled among them,” she added.
Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is a renowned Surgeon Consultant, noted that the quiz is one of the innovative strategies of spreading the message on breast cancer on a higher bar notch.
“We have by this competition, demonstrated our over-arching desire to keep lifting the bar notches higher and higher, as we tap into existing programs and devise innovative strategies and modules to spread the messages on breast cancer and non-communicable diseases,” she noted.
The Ashanti Regional Minister Hon. Simon Osei Mensah in his address, commended Dr. Wiafe Addai in her selfless role to make the country free from breast cancer disease and recommended that the competition should be opened to accommodate more schools in the region.
“Dr. Wiafe Addai has been on the frontline in the treatment against the deadly breast cancer disease, not only in Ghana but in Africa as well. It’s not surprising that she has been elected as the President of Africa Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), the continent’s highest body into cancer diseases. I recommended that more schools will be allowed to join the competition so that the knowledge in the cancers will be acquired by more students, and by extension, the message will be spread far,” he observed.
Source: otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah
