Popular Nigerian entertainer Charly Boy has launched a campaign on prostate cancer screening across Nigeria.
He recently revealed that the campaign would help to educate more men about prostate cancer risks.
Speaking during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja, the activist shared that the initiative would encourage regular screenings and aid early prostate cancer treatment among the male gender.
According to him, the campaign is the flagship programme of the Charly Boy Foundation, a nonprofit organisation aimed at creating awareness about men’s health, concentrating on mental well-being, diabetes, and prostate health.
Charly Boy stated that as someone who recently survived prostate cancer, his foundation is spearheading a nationwide campaign because many men keep dying in silence while battling the disease.
“We are in the middle of a silent epidemic as many of our men are dying in silence because they don’t talk about their health.
Most men shy away from taking good care of their mental and physical health, but as I share my experience they too can be more health conscious as they age in life.
Let me just say in the twilight of my life, this is what I want to do because I see the pains men are going through just because of something they fail to do to avoid going through pain.
Because of too much poverty in the land, people will get sick and it’s only when they are broken down that they decide to go to the hospital.
My own goal is to create awareness, talk to as many men as I possibly can, and create the needed awareness and, you know, dragging men out of their cocoons,” he said.
He further noted that his foundation presently runs mobile screening outreaches in rural communities, holds public campaigns, and collaborates with labs to bring testing closer to the grassroots.
He concluded by urging privileged Nigerians, both home and abroad, to identify with the foundation in its quest towards protecting the health of Nigerian men.
“We are advocating for regular checkup, and those who write to us, we are always encouraging them by taking care of parts of their bills.
Besides my podcasts, we have set up different social groups, utilising social media tools and the foundation website to provide information and opportunities for engagement with us.
I know in most families, they must have had a relative that has gone through the process and they know how it could be, so we are calling for everybody to bring their widow’s mite.
It is not just about money, it is also about volunteering because we need more hands on deck to expand our scope of operation.
Men are going through quite a lot and that is why there is absence of very good men out there, and many are not in their form to take charge, to protect and provide,
So men’s general health is something that needs all of our attention, and we need to act now,” he added.
