As part of efforts to reduce the number of men dying from prostate cancer in Nigeria, the Dozy Mmobuosi Foundation has unveiled a N4.1 billion ($10 million) free mobile prostate cancer screening to boost early detection of the killer disease.
The founder of the foundation, Dozy Mmobuosi, during the unveiling in Lagos recently said that the project had over 100 medical practitioners, with an expected 4,000 medical professional volunteers set to join.
Mmobuosi said the N4.1 billion project was designed to help tackle Nigeria’s leading cause of cancer deaths in men, saying, it would ensure one in six diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
He noted that the foundation and its partners would provide over 37 buses fabricated in Nigeria with advanced screening capabilities for massive free prostate cancer screening across Nigeria.
According to him, the screening buses will travel around each and every day, enabling citizens to get checked for prostate cancer, free of charge, in an efficient manner ahead of a wider rollout.
“Early detection is one of the best tools we have to prevent prostate cancer. Through the rollout of these buses, I hope to see prostate cancer rates in men decrease across the board, and I urge all men, specifically those aged 45 and over, to go for a free prostate cancer screening on these state-of-the-art buses.
“The reason I am launching mobile screening clinics across Nigeria is that I almost lost my father to prostate cancer. My family is fortunate to have the resources to deal with it. But I know millions of men across Nigeria do not have access to this.
“The mobile project is designed specifically to reach as many people as possible across the country regardless of their geography. From cities to rural villages, the programme aims to encourage as many men as possible to step forward and test for the disease, turning the tide on decades of premature deaths”, he said.
The Coordinator, Dozy Mmobuosi Foundation Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Service, Dr. Segun Sanni, said the project would enable the less privileged and people in remote communities across Nigeria to have access to free prostate cancer screening, adding that the first phase of the screening would start in Lagos.