The partnership between the University of New Mexico (UNM), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), Project ECHO and the Oyo State government to reduce the cancer burden has finally culminated in the flag-off of a training program for qualified frontline health workers selected from across the state.

The program tagged “Nigeria UNM UMB Cancer Control ECHO (NUUCCE) Program” is to train 100 health workers from health care institutions managed by the Oyo State government. The participants will be trained via a mix of didactic presentations and hands-on sessions for a period of 12 months.

The virtual launch sessions of the training were organized by the Center for Bioethics and Research which is responsible for the administration of the Program in Nigeria. The first session was held on Tuesday 24th May for the first cohort of 50 participants, and the second session on Wednesday 25th May for the second cohort, also of 50 participants.

The NUUCCE Program is focused on equipping the health workers with the requisite skills and knowledge for quick and accurate diagnosis and identification of cervical cancer cases to ensure the right treatment is administered and the disease arrested in its early stages. The training facilitators are local and international experts in cervical cancer screening who are highly experienced with many years of practice and research in the field.

The NUUCCE Program is supported by the University of New Mexico, the Project ECHO team and the Center for Bioethics and Research. Prof. Cosette Wheeler, (a Regents Professor in the Departments of Pathology, Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of New Mexico) and Prof. Clement Adebamowo (Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore) provide oversight of the program with support from Dr. Imran Morhason-Bello, (a consultant gynaecologist at the University of Ibadan College of Medicine) and the State Director of Public Health, Dr. Olubunmi Ayinde.