Leadership (Abuja)
Chizoba Ogbeche
12 November 2009
Abuja — First Lady, Hajiya Turai Umaru Yar'Adua, has asked the members of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) for balance in their reporting of events. Citing lopsideness in the various news reporting that has often portrayed Nigeria in bad light, she challenged NAWOJ members to always strive for a fair and balance in their stories. She said Nigeria had a lot to showcase the international community and that with the current wave of rebranding, women journalist must play a more significant role. Turai also charged the women journalists to embark on intense sensitization campaign on cervical cancer HPV vaccine, the existence of which many people, especially those from the rural areas, were not aware of. She averred that currently many cancer patients were victims of stigmatization, which can only be overcome through the concerted efforts of the media. She went down memory lane by recounting how polio vaccine was rejected by some people, saying if caution is not exercised the cancer vaccine will suffer the same fate. She expressed optimism that the activities of International Cancer Centre Abuja will raise awareness about the scourge and drastically reduce the impact of the disease. In response to NAWOJ's request for piece of plot to build its national headquarters, the First Lady promised to intervene. Earlier, NAWOJ President, Mrs. Fatimah Abdulkareem, intimated Mrs. Yar'Adua about the week-long programme marking the 20th anniversary of the association, part of which include free cervical cancer screening for the members and the general public. The First Lady was honoured as the grand matron of the association.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
