By Emmanuel Ado
In Nigeria, where breast cancer has quietly become one of the deadliest diseases facing women, and where our public health infrastructure continues to buckle under the weight of growing demand, one small group of women has spent a decade showing what quiet commitment can achieve.
FrendzUnite is not a foundation. It is not a donor-backed non-governmental organization (NGO), nor is it a government-sponsored programme. It is something far more organic and, in many ways, more powerful because of the commitment of the members. At its heart is a group of committed twenty professional women, but its roots go back to just six friends who shared more than just social ties. These were women who had grown up together, navigated life side by side, and who, over time, began dreaming of using their bond for something greater than socializing.
They made a conscious decision from the beginning that the group would remain small, intimate, and intentional. Membership was capped at twenty women, and new members would only be admitted when someone exited either due to relocation or death. This wasn’t exclusivity for its own sake. It was to preserve unity, trust, and focus. Each new member undergoes a vigorous vetting process not just to assess competence or enthusiasm, but to ensure alignment with the core values that defines the group, selfless service to humanity, integrity, and sisterhood.
What began as friendship has quickly deepened into a shared sense of responsibility. Over time, a deeper question emerged; what if their friendship could become a platform to give back? From this question, FrendzUnite was born. Recognizing the pain and suffering that breast cancer inflicts on Nigerian women especially those without access to timely care and the resources they made a collective decision, to act. And without waiting for outside help.
DON'T MISS
Over time, their circle expanded, as they carefully welcomed others who shared their values of empathy, commitment, and community involvement. And from this small, deeply connected group emerged a purpose-driven association determined to confront breast cancer head-on and not with noise, but with practical, life-saving actions.
But FrendzUnite didn’t stop there. As they worked with patients and visited communities, they saw that the illness was often compounded by extreme poverty. In response, they extended their mission to include the economic empowerment of women in two poverty-stricken areas. Through small but impactful interventions- from seed capital to micro-support initiatives- they’ve helped the women of Down Quarters and Raffin Guza communities to become financially independent, and more aware of the importance of seeking care when it matters most.Like they say, early detection is key.
They have also gone a step further by engaging in youth empowerment initiatives, equipping young people with life skills like sewing and other practical training programmes that will prepare them for a self-reliant future. This hands-on approach to empowerment ensures that the impact of FrendzUnite is both immediate and generational.
What started as friendship has evolved into a movement rooted in compassion and powered by personal sacrifice.
For ten years, they have walked alongside women battling the disease, offering awareness, emotional support, and crucial financial assistance. In a society where too many have been left to suffer in silence, FrendzUnite has stood by victims of the scourge without discrimination whatsoever.
They have certainly accomplished what many larger, louder, and better-funded organizations have not been able to achieve because of their commitment and dedication to the cause.
Since 2009, FrendzUnite has invested more than #8 million of their own money and with some support from friends and kind hearted individuals directly into the lives of breast cancer patients and struggling families. This includes sponsoring surgeries, diagnostic tests, follow-up care, and short-term financial aid that often means the difference between life and death. They’ve empowered women in communities like Down Quarters and Rafin Guza with seed capital to start or grow their small businesses.
This year alone, they have supported six women with financial assistance modest amounts, perhaps, but life-saving in the context of a broken healthcare system where even basic consumables are unaffordable for many.
At Barau Dikko Hospital, FrendzUnite maintains a #600,000 imprest account to pay for essential items such as gloves, syringes, IV fluids, and dressings. They used to maintain a similar imprest account at the Ahmadu Bello Teaching University Hospital, Zaria. These are items that, when unavailable, can delay or deny treatment altogether. This fund has become a lifeline, quietly covering gaps that should never have existed in the first place and ensuring that no woman is turned away because of her poverty.
These are not the kinds of gestures that make headlines. They are not “sponsored by” anyone. Theirs are quiet acts of mercy, repeated consistently, year after year, because twenty women have made a promise to show up and have kept the promise.
But the work is not without pain. FrendzUnite has unfortunately lost two of its own members to breast cancer. These were women who fought not just for others, but were eventually diagnosed and had to fight for themselves. The members have an intimate understanding of what it means to live with fear and to hope for healing. Their deaths were devastating. But the group didn’t fall apart. Instead, they found deeper resolve. Now, each life they touch, each walk they organize, each patient they help, is a tribute to those sisters who are no longer with them.
And this work has and would never be easy. Nigeria’s cancer crisis is worsening. According to the Global Cancer Observatory, Nigeria recorded over 269,000 new cancer cases in 2022. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Late presentation is common. Cultural stigma prevents early disclosure. Access to diagnosis and treatment is often delayed or denied.
In addition to the fragmented healthcare system is the absence of insurance coverage and insufficient investment by the government. The result is predictable: lives lost not to cancer, but to a system that has no capacity to respond.
This is why FrendzUnite matters. They have stepped into a void and not to replace government or other global actors, but to remind us all that we don’t have to wait for help to come from abroad or from Abuja. That we can and must act locally, with what we have.
What sets FrendzUnite apart is not just what they do, but how they do it. No donor dependence. No internal chaos. No mission creep. They are self-funded and impact-driven. In a society where doubts still linger about women’s ability to lead long-term initiatives without division or collapse, FrendzUnite has quietly disproved the stereotype.
They have also transcended the divisions that have long bedeviled Nigeria- religion and tribe. You have a Hurary from Katsina State, the Aminas’ from Bauchi and Edo states working hand in hand and building deep bonds with Faith, Agnes, and Mary from Anambra, Kaduna, and Delta states. In a country where such unity is rare, FrendzUnite offers a powerful counter-narrative one of shared humanity and purpose.
For ten years, they have walked. Literally. Every October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they organize their annual walk through the streets of Kaduna to educate, advocate, and mobilize. They’ve also gone door to door and spoken with women from all walks of life and have taught them breast self-examination in local languages. They’ve walked in the sun, the rain, and through fatigue to make sure that more women hear the message.
And now, ten years in, they’re thinking ahead. They know they won’t be here forever, so they’re laying the foundation for the future. They’ve started planning the formation of “Frendz of FrendzUnite”,a broader support network that will allow friends, family members, professionals, and well-wishers to contribute financially, volunteer their time, and keep the flag flying. They’re also exploring new partnerships with schools, where they hope to begin early health education and instill the value of community service among younger generations.
Because for them, this work is more than cancer. It’s about community. It’s about building a Nigeria where people do not suffer alone, where women lift each other up, and where friendship is not just about celebrating,but for doing something worthwhile.
FrendzUnite have shown us that it’s possible to do great things when citizens are determined. They remind us that the fight against breast cancer is not just a medical challenge but also a moral one. It calls on each of us to ask: what am I doing to help, to ease another’s burden, and to make sure that the woman next door doesn’t suffer in silence?
FrendzUnite have shown that breast cancer does not have to be a death sentence. That with early awareness, timely diagnosis, accessible treatment and above all with the compassion of a community that cares. And for ten years, FrendzUnite has embodied that compassion, walking it out one step at a time.
They’ve given their time, their money, their energy, and their hearts. Now they are inviting the rest of us to do the same.
It’s important that ten years later, they’re still walking. Let us walk with them.
