Nigeria Heart Foundation to Address Heart-Related Diseases in Africa
The Nigerian Heart Foundation, NHF, has unfolded plans to launch a massive awareness on cardiovascular disease in Nigeria and Africa at large with a view to promoting preventive measures aimed at reducing high mortality from heart diseases.
Briefing Journalists in Lagos, Chairman, Executive Council, NHF, Dr. Olufemi Mobolaji-Lawal said the foundation will be campaigning against heart disease and deliberating with stakeholders on how to improve cardiovascular disease desks in the ministry of health, in the upcoming 25thanniversary and 85thbirthday anniversary of immediate past President of its Board of Directors, Prof. Oladipo Akinkuggbe.
“The awareness about heart disease is still very poor, we want to do more awareness to increase information dissemination on this disease. These celebrations taking place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on the 29th of October will include a keynote lecture on Africa’s Cardiovascular disease, looking back and looking forward” he said.
Olufemi said the celebration will focus on 25years of promoting heart health, supporting medical and scientific research in heart disease and educating the Nigerian population on heart issues.
“We have seen that we can do the advocating alone, so we are collaborating with the media and other stakeholders to extend our reach. These events, we want to celebrate some of our wonderful members who have worked and contributed tirelessly for the past 25 years” he said. In his part, Executive Director, NHF, Dr Kingsley Akinroye, noted that 25 years of the foundation’s interventions is too small, thus, it has just embarked on its journey to ensure Nigerians live longer.
“The journey has just begun. The objective of the foundation is to look at prevention as a way of curbing the risks factors of heart disease. We are burdened about how we can promote heart health to ensure we live longer.
A lot of things are on the pipeline, there are exercises we are planning to control heart disease in the country. We are looking at in the next 50 years, we will be up to other country’s heart foundation” he said.
By: Arinola Kolade
Vanguard News
