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Straits Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Seven more youth footballers awarded Unleash The Roar! overseas scholarships
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo (left) speaking to Edan McCulloch (extreme right) ahead of the UTR scholarship award ceremony. SINGAPORE – Just five days after her exploits at the inaugural Lion City Cup girls' competition, Singapore's Chantale Lamasan made history by becoming the first goalkeeper from either gender to receive the Unleash the Roar! (UTR) overseas football scholarship. She was one of seven recipients, aged between 14 and 16, to be awarded the scholarship at Parkroyal on Beach Road on July 17. Chantale will be heading to IMG Academy in Florida, United States, for a three-year tenure and is excited to continue her development at the same institution as the previous two batches of recipients. 'Going online (and) seeing the school, it's really huge. In IMG there are like 16 football pitches and a huge gym. Hopefully (I will) have the freedom to work on myself and improve over there,' said the 16-year-old, who noted that the training facilities are a far cry from those in Singapore, which are 'quite hard to get'. The Singapore Sports School (SSP) student added: 'It's exciting for me to try out how different goalkeepers from different countries train, especially from such a big powerhouse like (the) US.' Chantale was part of the Lion City Cup squad that finished second behind champions South Korea in the four-team tournament. Despite conceding nine goals against the Koreans, she recalls how that was 'the best moment for me'. She said: 'Looking back on it, not only did I have the most to do (in that game), I actually played a full 90-minute match against such a strong opponent. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Driverless bus in Sentosa gets green light to run without safety officer in first for S'pore World US strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites, says new report Business 5 things to know about Kuok Hui Kwong, tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter and Shangri-La Asia head honcho Asia Air India probe into Boeing 787 fuel control switches finds no issues Singapore Man charged over manufacturing DIY Kpods at Yishun home; first such case in Singapore Singapore Sex first, then you can sell my flat: Women property agents fend off indecent proposals and harassment Singapore Two women jailed for submitting fake university certificates to MOM for employment passes Singapore Fatal abuse of Myanmar maid in Bishan: Traffic Police officer sentenced to 10 years' jail 'We were 5-0 down at half-time. I think in the past, I would have cried in the locker room. It'll be game over for me. But I feel like now, living in the moment, I just think as positively as possible. It's not 5-0. It's 'I tried my best'.' Being a goalkeeper, she understands how 'draining it can be mentally' and she hopes that her scholarship will change the wider perspective around the position. 'On social media, I always see how a goalkeeper can make 10,000 saves but one mistake that cost them the game will always (look) bad on the goalkeeper. '(But) I think I'm appreciating the position a lot (more) now. Having the whole team rely on me to be their last line of defence is an honour,' said Chantale, who cites German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as her inspiration. This batch of UTR scholarship winners has only one boy in Edan McCulloch, who became the youngest ever recipient of the award. He will be attached to Rayo Alcobendas, a top youth side in Madrid, Spain. The SSP student, who received the scholarship on the eve of his 14th birthday, downplayed any nerves over the prospect of living away from his family. 'In sports school, I was boarding there five days a week so I'm quite used to the system where I'd only see my parents (for) two days. But this will be a bigger challenge,' said Edan, whose father is Scottish and mother Singaporean. Edan, who transferred out of Dulwich College to join SSP in 2024, considers the opportunity to train abroad as 'a leap of faith'. The attacking midfielder added: 'I was there (Dulwich) for nine years. I left all my friends and went to a new school so that I can improve my abilities. It's a big step but it's also a big achievement. I'm very excited to face this challenge.' The other recipients are all from the Lion City Cup girls' squad – Liyana Rickit, Seri Nurinsyirah, Verona Lim, Yuvika Suresh and Celine Koh, younger sister of Chloe, who was part of the inaugural cohort. They are the first pair of siblings to receive the UTR scholarship. Celine, 15, said: 'I saw how much my sister grew during her time in IMG Academy. It inspired me to aim for this. Now that I've earned this opportunity, I want to make the most of it and continue pushing the limits.'
Zawya
04-04-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Côte d'Ivoire: Self-Testing extends Cervical Cancer Screening Services
In Côte d'Ivoire, nearly 90% of cervical cancer screenings are conducted through self-testing, empowering women to take charge of their health. This approach allows for detection in a private, convenient way – an especially critical advancement given the alarming rise in cervical cancer cases in the country. Cervical cancer is the leading cancer affecting women in Côte d'Ivoire, with 2360 new cases recorded in 2022, and a mortality rate of 62%. 'The main drivers of this high mortality rate are late diagnosis, limited access to treatment, the complexity of pre-therapeutic care pathways, and a general lack of awareness about the disease,' explains Dr Simon Boni, lead researcher and head of partnership development and multisectorial engagement at the National Cancer Control Programme (PNLca). Yet, cervical cancer is preventable through vaccination and can be effectively treated if detected early. In 2019, the government of Côte d'Ivoire launched the Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination with Secondary Prevention Strategy (SUCCESS). Supported by World Health Organization (WHO) in the African Region and the global health initiative UNITAID, this project aims to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health concern in two African countries: Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Two years ago, Côte d'Ivoire integrated self-testing into its national strategy, significantly improving access to screening – especially for women living with HIV, who are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer. Chantale, a woman in her 40s who tested positive for HIV in 2016, chose self-testing after receiving guidance from health staff. 'I did the self-test for cervical cancer and it came back positive. I was surprised – I had no symptoms. But the doctor told me the disease was not far advanced and that treatment would help me recover,' she recalls. 'It was a tough journey, but my family gave me a lot of support during the difficult moments. Thank God, I was declared cured after five years of treatment.' Between 2021 and 2023, more than 40 000 women were screened through the SUCCESS project across four health regions : Abidjan 1 and 2, Gbèkè and Haut-Sassandra. Self-testing, where women collect cervical cell samples themselves, has increased confidence and comfort, while reducing cultural barriers to screening. 'Health providers often prefer to offer self-testing rather than performing the sample collection themselves, partly due to heavy workloads. The time saved can be used to complete essential programme monitoring,' explains Dr Boni. In 2022, 51% of women attending health centres offering self-testing opted for this method. By 2023, this figure had reached 90%. At Saint Camille Hospital in Bouaké, which specializes in care for people living with HIV, the Ministry of Health, with support from WHO, has implemented a secondary prevention strategy for cervical cancer focused on screening for human papilloma virus (HPV). The Ministry, supported by WHO, has also trained 20 health professionals in community outreach, HPV testing, visual inspection after application of acetic acid (VIA), and treatment using thermal ablation. Within three months, the trained team at Saint Camille Hospital supported 46 women living with HIV to use the HPV self-sampling test. « Thanks to self-testing, we were able to detect the disease at an early stage in some of our patients, allowing them to receive timely and appropriate treatment,' said Dr Françoise Milolo, general practitioner and head of the screening team at Saint Camille Hospital. From 34 health centres at the start, the number of health facilities offering this service has grown to over 200, boosting women's confidence and encouraging greater uptake of screening. « Early detection remains one of the most effective ways to fight cancer among women, » explains Agnès Diasso, a midwife and cervical cancer screening provider. «Many women have avoided premature death thanks to the identification and treatment of precancerous lesions. We must take every opportunity to integrate screening services into our health centres, whether through sexual and reproductive health programmes or HIV care centres.' WHO continues to support Côte d'Ivoire in developing strategies to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, with a target of reaching 70% of eligible women by 2030. The country's model, especially for reaching women living with HIV, represents a promising approach to scaling up screening. 'When HPV tests are integrated into the national programme, self-sampling becomes a powerful complementary option,' said Dr Fatim Tall, Programme Coordinator and Technical Adviser for Maternal Health at WHO in Côte d'Ivoire. 'Many women feel more comfortable collecting their own samples, rather than undergoing a clinical exam.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization - Ivory Coast.
