Business
Polaris Bank Started Phase IV of the Breast-Cancer Screening Program.
Polaris Bank started Phase IV of the breast-cancer screening program.
Polaris Bank has stated that it has begun breast cancer screening for its employees and customers in order to minimize the prevalence of breast cancer in Nigeria.
This was announced in Lagos by the Bank’s Group Head of Strategic Brand Management, Nduneche Ezurike, who also reiterated the Bank’s unflinching commitment and participation in the fight against the epidemic of breast cancer among women.
Polaris Bank notes that increased awareness, screening, advocacy, and support will go a long way toward reducing the incidence of breast cancer in the country.
The screening exercise, which is in its 4th phase, commenced in April and will be held once every month. It is open to the bank’s interested female staff and customers. The screening exercise is in partnership with COPE and is held at the NGO’s Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, and Lagos offices.
Mr. Ezurike noted that healthcare is one of the pillars of Polaris Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), stressing that its partnership with relevant public-spirited non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like Care Organization Public Enlightenment (COPE), Societal Healthcare Organization (SHO), and Marcel Ruth Cancer Centre, has enabled it to contribute significantly to the reduction of breast cancer in the country.
The Polaris spokesman further noted, “In partnership with the aforementioned NGOs, we have covered five key milestones, namely, awareness, advocacy, capacity-building, prevention, and treatment, in an ongoing effort to reverse the negative impact and trend of the scourge and other related health complications.”
“We have screened over 22,000 women, including female staff members of the Bank, through our prevention program, donated three ultra-modern breast cancer screening machines to enhance quality diagnosis and clinical practices, sponsored the treatment of over 30 indigent cancer patients, and organized or participated in a 10-km/6-km walk with over 3,100 participants to draw public attention to the breast cancer scourge,” he said.
The President of COPE, Mrs. Ebunola Anozie, commended Polaris Bank for the support, care, and encouragement they have so far received from the bank, stressing that the bank has been a strong partner behind their initiatives for nearly 20 years now.
“For some time, we had difficulty getting the required support for the women. Some of our women used handkerchiefs; some used tissues to fill up their bras. But we are grateful for the timely support of Polaris Bank. They were able to donate prostheses that ensured our breast cancer survivors lived better lives”, Anozie added.
Polaris Bank also has several other initiatives to improve the general well-being of women in the country.
In 2021, it organized a 3-day intensive capacity-building workshop in Northern Nigeria on life-saving skills for 50 community midwives and health extension workers, randomly selected from 80 percent public and 20 percent private hospitals in Kano State, in partnership with SHO.
Additionally, in seeking ways to address social issues affecting women and the most vulnerable groups in Northern Nigeria, Polaris Bank also worked in concert with a northern-based NGO and women-focused group, Sisters-Keepers Initiative, to organize a conference in Kano to exchange ideas on the scourge of child neglect, physical abuse, domestic violence, illiteracy, street begging, and child labor.
The bank was adjudged Digital Bank of the Year in 2021 and 2022 by BusinessDay Newspaper’s Banking and Finance Industry Awards (BAFI) alongside other institutions that recognized VULTe as Nigeria’s best digital bank, like the Nigeria FinTech Awards, amongst others.
