By Oni Femi (INN), Ekiti
The Executive Director of Disability Not A barrier Initiative, Mr Olajide Funso Benjamin has called on the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji to establish a skin cancer screening, treatment and management center at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital and other public health institutions.
This call was made after another death of Person with Albinism in Ekiti, Mrs Bolanle Salami, who was described effective during her service as a school teacher and vice chairperson of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities Ekiti State chapter.
Mr Olajide explained how Bola’s death was similar to one past chairman of Persons with Albinism in Ekiti State, Late Pastor Alufa Wellington who also lost the battle against skin cancer less than two years ago.
The open letter reads in part, “My dear Governor, I decided to write this open letter to you because of your deep interest in ensuring better lives for your people especially persons with disabilities.
“This was particularly evident in your recent recruitment of sign language interpreters into civil service of EKITI state. It is a known truth that even millionaires who had an encounter with cancer still shout for help with all their millions because its treatment is funds-consuming. If the rich with all their millions cannot finance it all alone, how much more persons with Albinism who mostly rely on family members to survive on daily basis.
“There is therefore the need for state and non-state actors to jointly provide the needed support to prevent our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and friends within the Albinism community from the scourge of skin cancer and untimely death.”
To halt the reoccurrence of demise of Persons with Albinism in Ekiti State, Mr Olajide, a Disability Rights advocate and a person with Disability with a proven track records, urged the Ekiti State Government to recruit competent Dermatologists into public health institution, provide and distribute free sunscreen cream and sun glasses, to train and retrain health personnel on Albinism and skin cancer screening, treatment and management and to set up a special Skin Cancer Trust Fund to cater for the treatment and management of skin cancer related issues.
Mr. Olajide also appealed to Governor Oyebanji to help Bola’s kid with scholarship and Alufa’s wife with employment.