How a grassroots campaign is reframing women’s health as community development.

In many Niger Delta communities, the conversation about development often revolves around livelihoods, oil impacts, or environmental restoration. But in October 2025, the Coastal and Marine Areas Development Initiative (CMADI) shifted the focus from land and livelihoods to life itself, through its Pink October Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.

The campaign, held on October 11 and 18, 2025, at Ubeji Market and Egbokodo Itsekiri Community, was not just about pink ribbons or slogans. It was a grassroots movement for health literacy, designed to make early detection and prevention part of everyday knowledge for women who are often left out of mainstream health systems.

From Awareness to Action: Teaching What Saves Lives

Facilitators Mrs. Anino Okuna and Mrs. Sonia Ekele led interactive demonstrations on breast self-examination (BSE), breaking down each step into easy, memorable techniques. The sessions created safe spaces where women asked questions freely, shared fears, and connected their experiences to prevention.

One participant shared how she lost her sister to breast cancer—a heartfelt moment that deepened the outreach and underscored the vital link between awareness and early detection.

Beyond education, CMADI provided free on-site screenings through its mobile clinic, in partnership with Ubeji Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) and HRM Ikenwoli PHC (Ijala Ikenren).

• 25 women received blood pressure (BP) checks, with six recording dangerously high readings, one as high as 200/100 mmHg.
• 18 underwent random blood sugar (RBS) testing, and five were found with low blood sugar levels, receiving immediate counselling.
• Two participants were referred to health centres for urgent follow-up care.

During consultations, a woman self-medicating with multiple hypertension drugs was advised to stop, highlighting the power of community-level interventions in uncovering hidden risks.

Community Health as a Pathway to Development

CMADI is redefining development in the Niger Delta by placing women’s health at the heart of community progress. Challenging the notion that health comes after infrastructure or income, CMADI’s grassroots model brings preventive care and awareness directly to women in markets and community spaces, where learning feels natural and accessible. This approach has not only improved access to essential health information in underserved areas but also empowered women to become advocates and educators within their own communities.

Through awareness sessions, screenings, counselling, and referral pathways, CMADI is uncovering hidden health risks and connecting people to care. As breast cancer and other non-communicable diseases continue to affect women across Nigeria, CMADI’s work underscores a larger truth: sustainable development begins with healthy, informed communities.