By Our Correspondent
A nongovernmental organization, the OCI Foundation, has marked this year’s World Cancer Day with a quiz competition among secondary schools in Anambra State as part of awareness creation against cancer disease.
The event climaxed the fourth edition of the statewide quiz competition designed to enhance engagement with the OCI Foundation’s “Arm Our Youths Anti-Cancer Health Campaign”, also known as the ArOY Health campaign.
The founder and President of the foundation, Dr. Chris Ifediora said the quiz component of the ArOY campaign was added in the 2021/2022 academic session and has since been delivered annually in collaboration with the State Post Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSSC).
The initiative, he added, is a Harvard-endorsed anti-cancer programme that introduced anti-breast and anti-cervical cancer teachings into the regular curriculum of all public Senior Secondary Schools across Anambra State. He added that on October 10th, 2019, the Anambra State government officially commissioned the ArOY project for its public schools.
Ifediora explained that the event was put together to celebrate and reward the students, teachers, and schools that have steadfastly adhered to, and remarkably excelled in the provisions of the OCI Foundation’s ArOY Health Campaign.
Master Daniel Nzube Okeke from Community High School, Nwafija from Aguata Education zone emerged the state champion of the competition, which drew participants from the six education zones of Otuocha, Onitsha, Ogidi, Awka, Nnewi and Aguata.
Ifediora, who was represented by Dr Joy Ulasi said: “The finalists emerged from the six zonal contests held across different days in November 2024. The OCI Foundation remains committed to sponsoring a national version of this quiz competition, which we hope to introduce across Nigeria as part of the programmes to support the compulsory integration of the ArOY campaign into the curriculum of all Nigerian Senior Secondary Schools.
“This exciting dream for a national competition is only possible because, in mid-2023, the Nigerian National Assembly passed an OCI Foundation-inspired Legislative Bill that will nationalize the ArOY campaign.”
“It has turned out to be an exciting, engaging, and inspiring contest that sees students from all 265 public Senior Secondary Schools of this state participate in a healthy, transparent contest.”
He recalled that the World Cancer Day was set aside to raise awareness against cancers. “It was created by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) at the 2000 World Cancer Summit in Paris, France.
“Our Foundation, being a full member of the UICC, participated at the 2024 World Cancer summit held between September 17 to 19, 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland. We are committed to the World Cancer Day”, he stated.
Chairman of the occasion, Dr Ernest Chukwuma, commended the organizers for bringing out the best in the students.
He said that Principals of schools will be informed on how best to update students with current affairs, noting that some of the questions failed by the participants in the quiz were things primary School pupils could easily answer.
“We hope that next year’s competition will be as successful as this year’s and even better,” he added.
