What’s Your PSA?: Turning Prostate Cancer Awareness into Access
For many men, the decision to get a health check begins with a simple question: What if something is wrong and I don’t know it?
For Emeka Umegbeaka, that question was shaped by personal experience. He lost his father following prostate-related health challenges and remembers watching a strong, independent man become seriously ill.
So, when Emeka came across an opportunity to access a free PSA test through the HOW Foundation’s #WhatsYourPSA? campaign, he decided to take it.
“This opportunity made me glad when I saw it, and I decided to take advantage of it and see how I was doing health-wise in that regard, as it is better to check early, detect if there are any issues, and prevent stuff before it all goes awry.”
Emeka’s experience reflects a wider challenge: awareness does not always translate into action when access remains a barrier.
Taking the first step: The HOW Foundation’s PSA initiative encourages men to be more proactive about their prostate health.
From awareness to access
Prostate cancer remains an important public health concern in Nigeria, with persistent challenges around awareness, early diagnosis and access to appropriate care.
For many men, taking the first step can be difficult. Some may not know about PSA testing or where to access it. Others may assume that because they have no symptoms, they do not need to test. For some, the cost of testing can also be a barrier.
Feedback from beneficiaries of the HOW Foundation’s initiative reflects these realities. 25.4% reported that they did not know about PSA testing until they encountered awareness content from the Foundation’s #WhatsYourPSA? campaign. 21.1% said they had not considered testing because they had no symptoms, while 16.9% identified funding or cost as a reason they had never tested.
These insights highlight an important gap: telling people to take action is only part of the solution. People also need the information, opportunity and access to act.
What beneficiaries told us about the barriers to PSA testing.
Turning a legacy into action
For the HOW Foundation, prostate health is not a new conversation.
The Foundation’s late founder, Dr. Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe, was an advocate for prostate cancer awareness. During Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, he supported the use of sport and community engagement to bring men together and encourage conversations around prostate health through the Blue-State Charity Match.
Building on this legacy, the HOW Foundation launched its PSA testing initiative in December 2025, providing free testing to beneficiaries through healthcare partners in Lagos and Port Harcourt. The initiative gained greater visibility in June 2026 through the #WhatsYourPSA? campaign.
The campaign is built around a simple idea: knowing more about your health gives you an opportunity to make informed decisions about it.
Making the first step easier
Through partnerships with healthcare providers and diagnostic centres, beneficiaries can register for a PSA test at no cost.
The process is intentionally simple. Men register through the campaign, receive information on where to access the test, and are supported through follow-up communication to encourage them to complete their registration. Results are generally received by email within 24 hours of testing, with beneficiaries encouraged to consult their doctors where further medical evaluation is needed.
A PSA test is a blood test that measures prostate-specific antigen. An elevated PSA level does not, on its own, mean that a man has prostate cancer, which is why results should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
From registration to results: making access to PSA testing simpler for beneficiaries.
From numbers to lives
Since the launch of the initiative, the Foundation has reached more than 362,727 men through social media, received over 2,000 registrations, and supported 300 men across Lagos and Port Harcourt to access PSA testing as at September, 2026.
From registration to results: making access to PSA testing simpler for beneficiaries.
Behind these numbers are individual decisions to take health more seriously.
For Esiaka Victor, the decision to test was driven by concerns about symptoms he had experienced. After receiving his result, he felt reassured and encouraged other men to prioritise their prostate health.
“My advice to other men is to make PSA screening a priority and get checked regularly for early detection, so they don't have to keep guessing about their health status.”
Stories like Emeka’s and Victor’s demonstrate why access matters. Awareness can encourage a man to ask questions he may otherwise have ignored, while removing the cost barrier can make taking that first step possible.
Looking ahead
The #WhatsYourPSA? initiative is ultimately about more than one campaign. Sustaining and expanding access to health services requires collaboration between philanthropic organisations, healthcare providers, businesses, high-net-worth individuals and other partners who share a commitment to improving men’s health.
For the HOW Foundation, this means continuing to invest in PSA testing while building partnerships and seeking funding to expand the initiative to more locations and reach more men.
“Prostate health is not only a conversation about cancer; it is a conversation about access, awareness and the opportunity for men to make informed decisions about their health. Through #WhatsYourPSA?, we are working to remove some of the barriers that prevent men from taking that first step. We hope to reach even more men by deepening partnerships and expanding access to testing.”
The journey is ongoing. But every registration, every test and every conversation represents another opportunity for a man to move from uncertainty to knowledge and from knowledge to informed action.
So, what’s your PSA?
