Busoga Kingdom’s second deputy Prime Minister Owek. Alhaj Osman Ahmed Noor has called on stakeholders in the health sector to increase awareness of breast and cervical cancers in Busoga sub region and the whole country at large.
Owek. Osman was speaking during a prize giving ceremony to winners of the Cancer walk, run and ride held in Jinja City. The Cancer walk, run and ride event was organized by Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja to create more awareness about breast and cervical cancer.
He said Busoga Kingdom’s Ministry of Health has been doing a lot of sensitisation in the communities about various diseases including cancer and thanked different organisations who had come out and supported the kingdom to see that it also leverage on their expertise, donations and human resource, so that the king’s subjects can live a better and happy life.
He told Kyabazinga’s subjects who turned up for the event to be mindful about their health and encouraged them to do regular health check-ups to ensure that they fight diseases like cancer that are killing hundreds of people in Uganda annually.
Owek. Osman thanked sponsors for sponsoring the cancer run event and the media for doing a great job in amplifying the message about cancer prevention to the people.
The executive director of Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja (RHHJ), Sylvia Nakami, said they organized the cancer run to promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affected women globally and to educate people on the risk factors of breast and cervical cancer.
Nakami said cervical and breast cancer are still a problem in Busoga sub region and expressed the need for all stakeholders in the health sector to join hands together and fight these cancers.
She said they have HPV vaccines at their Jinja based organization and encouraged parents to take their daughters of 14 years and above, for vaccination. “I am also urging women above 29 years to go for routine free cervical and breast cancer screening,” she urged.
Busoga Health Forum’s executive director, Moses Kyangwa, said fighting cancer is a responsibility for every one especially men who have a role in the epidemiology of cervical cancer.
Kyangwa revealed that Busoga Kingdom’s Ministry of Health through Busoga Health Forum is going to organize a three-day health camp ahead of the royal wedding starting November 15th, 2023 at Busoga Kingdom headquarters and invited all Non-government organizations to take part.
Quoting Psalms 107:19, Rev. James Kivunike, a board member at Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja, told friends in the fight against cancer to call upon the name of God in this distress adding that God had heard their outcry and would not leave them in that situation but rather heal them of all the diseases including breast and cervical cancer.
Winners of the cancer walk, run and ride were given prizes and were handed over to them by Busoga Kingdom’s second deputy Prime Minister Owek. Alhaj Osman Ahmed Noor.