Breast Cancer: NUJ, Pink Africa Target Students In Early Awareness Drive

CROSS RIVER, CALABAR – Rather than wait for breast cancer awareness to reach homes through adults, the Pink Africa Foundation and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River State Council, are taking the message directly to teenagers, hoping students will carry it back to their families and communities.

The school-focused awareness campaign, held at Government Secondary School, Akim, Calabar, is designed to educate students on body awareness and self-breast examination while turning them into grassroots awareness agents.

Speaking during the programme, Executive Director of Pink Africa Foundation, Glory Egrinya, said the decision to target teenagers was deliberate as part of efforts to address late presentation among cancer patients.

“We are aiming to catch them young,” Egrinya said, explaining that informed students could make better decisions about their health and share the knowledge with others.

She said the foundation had sustained its cancer advocacy for eight consecutive years across eight African countries, noting that inadequate awareness remained a challenge.

“Breast cancer is prevalent now. So many women are having it and they are not aware,” Egrinya said. “We often have late presentation because the awareness is not enough.”

Chairman of the NUJ Cross River State Council, Comrade Archibong Bassey, described the partnership with Pink Africa Foundation as an important opportunity to encourage people to pay attention to changes in their bodies.

Bassey urged students not to be ashamed or afraid of examining their bodies, stressing that awareness could help them notice changes that may require medical attention.

“It is part of your body, so you should not be ashamed, you should not be afraid to look at it because when you look at it, you’ll be able to discover the changes that are coming up,” he said.

President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Cross River State Branch, Dr. Funke Ebughe, also supported the school-focused approach, saying students needed to understand their bodies early.

“We think that the students need to know their bodies early before we have cases presenting late,” Ebughe said.

She added that teenagers sometimes hide changes occurring in their bodies, making early communication and awareness important.

According to her, the impact of educating one student could extend beyond the classroom as the child shares the information with family members and others.

“When you speak to one child, the goal is to reach a hundred people as they share the information,” she said.

Beyond cancer awareness, the Pink Africa Foundation also distributed exercise books, writing materials and tuition support to selected students from less-privileged backgrounds.

The school principal, Mrs. Magdalene Asam, said the intervention would provide relief to families struggling to meet their children’s educational needs.

She said the support showed how partnerships between organisations and schools could contribute to improving the welfare of students.

The school campaign is expected to lead into the Go Pink Africa 2026 event scheduled for October 24 in Calabar.

The event will feature free breast cancer screening, post-treatment cancer screening, cervical cancer screening and free eye-care services.

Egrinya urged residents to participate in the event, saying the campaign would combine public sensitisation with access to screening services.

“We are going to be painting the streets of Calabar pink. On October 24th, come out en masse,” she said, urging residents to support efforts aimed at improving awareness and early detection.