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OPINION:HPV Testing, A Catalyst For Women’s Empowerment

Published

9 months ago

February 6, 2025

An old proverb from the Congo says, “A mother is like a kernel, crushed by problems but strong enough to overcome them”. Throughout Africa, mothers, sisters – the continent’s primary caregivers – are expected to be strong. Indeed, their resilience is the glue that holds our families and economies together. Yet, women in the African Region are more vulnerable to many more life-threatening diseases and health conditions than women in other regions.

Among these illnesses is cervical cancer (caused by HPV – the Human Papillomavirus), which remains the leading cause of death in women in Sub-Saharan Africa – even though it is preventable. January, marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, comes around every year – and every year, we move closer to the WHO (World Health Organization) 2030 “90-70-90” cervical cancer elimination targets.

That is, 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine; 70% of women screened with a high-performance test by age 35 and again at 45; and 90% of women identified with cervical disease receiving treatment (90% of women with invasive cancer managed). We still have a long way to go.

The economic case for investment in HPV screening

With fewer than five years left to achieve the 90-70-90 targets, we’re in a race against the clock. To make the case for urgent action for African women’s health, let’s consider that none of us exists in a vacuum. A cycle of cause and effect starts in the smallest corners of our communities and escalates to the most significant factors influencing our economies.

When a family’s primary caregiver or breadwinner becomes a casualty of cervical cancer, an entire family system collapses. According to estimates, for every 100 mothers who die from cervical or breast cancer in resource-poor settings, 14 children die before their 10th birthday, and 210 become maternal orphans.

As a young physician serving in rural communities in my home country, Kenya, I observed the cycle firsthand. Children left behind suffer enhanced exposure to malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia or even malnutrition because their mother is not there to care for them. Beyond the awful tragedy this represents for good, hardworking people, this also perpetuates a domino effect that trickles down to local economies.

In Africa, women comprise an estimated 50% of the agricultural sector labour force, power over 50% of all SMEs (as per IFC data), and support families (African Development Bank). Valuable members of our communities, their children and their families are at risk. These are all potentially valuable contributors to our society and economy. Logically, for Africa to realise its full economic potential, we must prioritise women’s health.

Ending the cycle

There are currently two methods of testing; the traditional method is a pap smear, which many women will be familiar with. In addition to its low sensitivity and need to be conducted more often, the method leaves many women feeling embarrassed or vulnerable during the sample collection process. However, a second option empowers women to avoid the perceived indignity of a pap smear. This relatively recent innovation is the HPV-DNA testing with the self-collection kit – now available from many healthcare providers.

According to the WHO, self-collection has proved to be as reliable as samples collected by healthcare providers. The most significant benefit of self-collection is that once the self-collection kit has been picked from your nearest healthcare facility, sample collection can be done in the privacy of your home. Lancet and other participating laboratories provide lists of local locations where kits are available.

Currently, lack of access to national HPV screening, vaccination, testing and treatment programmes as well as lack of education and social and economic inequities, prevent women from taking their cervical health into their own hands, leaving many at risk. We can change this.

Partnerships powering progress

Governments and policymakers worldwide are becoming more committed to prioritising diagnostics. This commitment was bolstered by the 2022 adoption of the WHO Resolution on Strengthening Diagnostics Capacity by participating member states at the World Health Assembly.

The Resolution prompts government stakeholders to drive equitable access to diagnostics, ultimately driving universal healthcare for all people. To accomplish the WHO goals, however, we need a collective effort – from our communities, the private and public sectors, healthcare practitioners and anyone else who can make the time to have the necessary conversations about HPV.

Cervical cancer doesn’t just impact the individual—it affects entire communities. In low and middle-income countries, the financial burden of late-stage treatment falls heavily on families and national healthcare systems. Advanced treatments like chemotherapy are costly and often unattainable for many, driving households into poverty.

By contrast, early diagnosis through HPV testing alleviates these financial pressures. It reduces the cost of treatment, eases the strain on overburdened healthcare systems and enables women to remain active contributors to their families and the economy.

When women thrive, so do the communities they support. Early testing for HPV is the open “secret weapon” – and our roadmap to 90-70-90.

By Dr Allan Pamba, Executive Vice President, Diagnostics, Africa at Roche Diagnostics.

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Why Sowore Was Taken To Prison After Bail – Police

Published

11 hours ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

The court granted bail to Sowore with N500,000 and two sureties, which his legal team was working to perfect at the time of the police action.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja shortly after the incident, human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, accused the police of violently attacking and removing Sowore moments after his bail was granted.

Adeyanju alleged that more than 50 armed officers stormed the court premises, descended on Sowore, and took him away by force while refusing to present a valid remand order.

“Sowore had just been granted bail, and while we were conferring with him here, the police suddenly launched an attack. More than 50 officers violently descended on him and took him away by force. We don’t even know where they have taken him,” he said.

He said the officer who led the operation briefly displayed what he claimed was a remand order but refused to allow Sowore’s lawyers to inspect it.

Adeyanju said, “The officer flashed the document, and when we insisted on reviewing it, he pocketed it and ordered that they must go.

“When we asked where they were taking him, he said Kuje Prison. We demanded to see the remand order as endorsed by the court, but he refused.”

He further alleged that during the scuffle, the police accused Sowore of insulting the Inspector General of Police, saying, “Because Sowore called the IG useless, they must deal with him.”

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FIFA’s Use Of Kebbi Stadium In Banner Sparks Outrage, Funding Row

Published

11 hours ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

Global football body FIFA has stirred a storm of reactions across Nigeria after showcasing the Birnin Kebbi Stadium project in Kebbi State — a facility co-funded with the Nigeria Football Federation — on its official social media pages.

FIFA on Saturday used an image of the project, dating back to 2023, as the new profile banner on its official X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts.

The image, showing a half-furnished stadium in Birnin Kebbi, quickly went viral.

Built under the FIFA Forward Programme, the stadium was meant to symbolise progress in grassroots football. But as the photo circulated online, fans flooded social media with outrage and speculation.

Some netizens interpreted FIFA’s post as a subtle jab at the NFF, following recent allegations of fund mismanagement.

The uproar comes just days after football critic Chinedu Mobike, via his official Instagram handle #c_mobike, on October 23, 2025, accused the NFF of squandering millions of dollars meant for infrastructure projects, including its twin project in Delta State.

Mobike, in his viral video, claimed that FIFA gave the NFF “1.2 million dollars for two stadiums” — one in Kebbi and another in Ugborodo, Delta State — which, he alleged, “till today did not see daylight.”

Comparing Nigeria’s FIFA-funded projects with those of other nations, Mobike alleged that while “other countries used the funds to truly develop football, Nigeria produced nothing to show.

“The NFF should sit up…There are no active projects promoting football or sports in Nigeria,” Mobike said.

According to The PUNCH, the next day, Friday, October 24, 2025, the NFF issued an official statement, which it described as a “fresh clarification to misinformation” by some social media users (names not mentioned) who claimed the NFF “collects millions of dollars from FIFA annually to misappropriate.”

The statement, retrieved from the NFF website, was titled: “NFF: Monies received from FIFA & CAF are for specific purposes, and audited in every cycle.”

While Mobike’s video reignited calls for reform, the hashtag #SaveNigerianFootball has been trending on X, as users express frustration and hope that collective pressure might finally bring transparency to Nigerian football governance.

In its October 24 statement, the NFF firmly denied any wrongdoing, explaining that every dollar received from FIFA or CAF is tied to a specific purpose and audited annually.

“The monies meant for development purposes are tied to specific projects.

“FIFA Forward funds are properly specified and under strict adherence to financial regulations, compliance, monitoring, and auditing at every stage,” the NFF said.

The Federation cited ongoing FIFA Forward projects such as the NFF/FIFA Players’ Hostel and new training pitches at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, stressing that every phase is verified before funds are released directly to FIFA-approved consultants.

Dismissing the viral reports as “fictitious figures,” the NFF added that those spreading misinformation “would find no reason to seek clout if they had any idea how much it costs to organise a single match of any of the national teams.”

But the clarification failed to calm the storm.

Instead, FIFA’s quiet profile update on Saturday reignited debate, with many Nigerians reading it as a silent but deliberate signal.

Many questioned how long it would take to fully complete a mini-stadium project that came to light in May 2023, after the groundbreaking event in September 2020 by the former Kebbi governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

In December 2023, it was reported that Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris unveiled the FIFA/NFF-backed stadium project, saying it was designed to “boost the morale of youths in the state.”

He noted that the project cost $1,183,000, with the state government donating four hectares of land and paying ₦19 million in compensation to landowners.

Earlier, in May 2023, FIFA described the Kebbi project as part of its commitment to grassroots football, writing on its website InsideFIFA: “It is no surprise, then, that Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi, was chosen back in 2020 as the site for the construction of an artificial football pitch now available for young boys and girls to use.

“Meanwhile, a second pitch is under construction in Ugborodo… these two ambitious projects have received around USD 2 million in funding from FIFA through its Forward Programme.”

Online Reactions
Social media erupted with interpretations and comparisons.

Some users viewed FIFA’s action as subtle recognition rather than mockery. One X user, @Poka741997, wrote: “FIFA updating their header is symbolic. It’s recognition for Nigeria, even if the stadium’s budget is modest by international standards.”

Others saw it as a global embarrassment.

User #_AsiwajuLerry commented: “FIFA changed their Twitter header to the $1.2m stadium built by the NFF. Global shame.”

Echoing that sentiment, #OyokunyiOkon added: “This is embarrassing. The NFF should be ashamed that FIFA is showcasing a $1.2 million ‘stadium’ in Kebbi that clearly reflects misplaced priorities and poor accountability.”

Comparing Nigeria’s project to Senegal’s 50,000-seat Stade Abdoulaye Wade, user #FemiOguntayo2 remarked: “Nigerians want to build a world-class stadium with $1.2m… Haba! We know NFF is corrupt but haba na…

“This is Stade Blaise Sené (also known as Stade du Sénégal or Abdoulaye Wade National Stadium) in Diamniadio, Senegal. Its total construction cost was $270 million, funded largely by the Senegalese government and built by Turkey’s Summa Construction Company. FIFA’s way of mocking the NFF. How did they spend $1.2m on that stadium? Exposing the kwaruption in the NFF?”

Another user, #mario99amr29, suggested FIFA’s post was deliberate: “We know what’s at play.

“If FIFA can display this at the expense of other successful projects, maybe it’s a subtle callout. Nigeria vs Kenya: A case study.”

As of press time, FIFA had yet to issue any official comment explaining the use of the Kebbi stadium image on its banner. PUNCH

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Police Arrests Principal Supplier Of Weapons To Bandits In Delta

Published

13 hours ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

The Special Assignment Team of the Delta state Police Command has arrested a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the northern part of Nigeria

The suspect, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie local government area, has long been on the command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

The Commands Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Bright Edafe, in a statement disclosed that acting on credible intelligence from the Force Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), Abuja, operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT), led by ASP Julius Robinson, arrested a female suspects, one Jamila Abubakar, at Conoil Filling Station, Warri–Patani Road, Effurun.

The statement revealed that upon her arrest, officers discovered the cash sum of ₦550,000 neatly concealed beneath her bag and suspected to be proceeds from illicit transactions.

According to DAILY POST her apprehension provided a crucial lead that set off a well-coordinated follow-up operation.

“Buildin on that intelligence, the operatives stormed Niger-Cat area of Warri, where they successfully arrested a notorious arms peddler, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area, at about 0725 hrs on 22nd October 2025.

“A search led to the recovery of a bag containing one hundred and fifteen rounds 115 rounds of 7.63mm AK-47 live ammunition, 220 rounds of SMG rifle ammunition, and 32 live cartridges”.

Edafe further noted, that preliminary investigations revealed that, the suspect is a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the north and has long been on the Command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

According to the statement, Ahmed Ibrahim, is also linked to the kidnap and murder of one Ogheneovo Onemu (female), who was abducted on May 27, 2024 at Edjekota community in Ughelli North LGA, and later murdered after a ransom payment of ₦4,000,000.

Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, described the breakthrough as another testament to the Command’s unwavering commitment to stemming the flow of illegal arms, dismantling criminal syndicates, and bringing offenders to justice.

The CP urged residents to remain vigilant and continue supporting the Police with timely and credible information to aid the fight against crime, assuring the public that the Command will sustain its momentum against criminal elements and remain resolute in protecting the lives and property of all law-abiding citizens.