While banks have been accused of only focusing on increasing the profit margin and hardly contribute to social and humanitarian causes, Skye Bank seems ready to be different with its commitment to joining the fight against the scourge of breast cancer in the country. Tokunbo Abiru, the bank's managing director, said through their non-governmental organisation partner, Care Organisation and Public Enlightenment, COPE, would ensure that the pain breast cancer causes the nation's women is brought to an end.

"We are committed to the fight against the high incidence of cancer; especially breast cancer in the country and with our NGO partner, Care, Organisation and Public Enlightenment (COPE) Foundation, no stone is going to be left unturned until the disease is brought to a halt." Speaking further, Abiru said: "Our concern and desire as a financial institution and a corporate citizen, is to stem the growing trend of the disease."

The Skye Bank boss pledged that the financial institution would continue to support worthy social causes in the health sector to improve the wellbeing and healthcare of Nigerians, saying a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. He explained that in the past, the financial service giants had sponsored a 10-kilometre walk in two different locations within the Lagos metropolis with over 2,500 participants to draw the attention of the public to the deadly cancer scourge.

In her remarks, the Managing Partner of COPE Foundation, Mrs. Ebun Anozie, called for the establishment of cancer care centres in the country where specialists would be available to provide care and treatment to patients and survivors. She commended Skye Bank for sponsoring over 30 indigent cancer patients for treatment in addition to providing free screening programmes for over 12,000 women within and outside Lagos.

Excerpt from All Africa.