Power Forward: Promoting Youth Development, Malaria Prevention Through Basketball 

ExxonMobil, in partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and international NGO PanAfricare, have demonstrated its commitment to youth development and health awareness as it concluded it’s 2023 edition of its Power Forward League Games.

The League, now in its tenth season, impacted Nigerian secondary school students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by teaching them health literacy and life skills through basketball and other engaging programming.

This year’s event at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, saw a total of 42 teams, comprising 30 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams, competing in 168 games as part of the Power Forward Basketball League. Following the model of the NBA and WNBA.

Speaking at the event, Project Officer, Power Forward, Benjamin Igber, said the event aimed at promoting physical fitness among students in the FCT, through basketball drills.

He also said that the league game creates a platform for all the project beneficiaries to come together and interact.

“The competitions are just an avenue for the beneficiaries to showcase the skills they’ve learnt while going through the project” he said.

While basketball remained at the heart of the initiative, the event offered much more than competitive matches as free malaria testing and sensitisation activities were provided to raise awareness about the importance of malaria prevention and treatment.

The initiative also addressed essential health practices, with a bed-net demonstration highlighting the significance of using bed nets for protection against mosquito-borne diseases like malaria.

Speaking on the beneficiaries enrollment process, Igber stated that aside students having the interest to join the programme, academic averages are also considered, as well as parental consent.

“We also consider academic averages, so that students who we enroll are sound in academics as Sports and education complements each other “, he said.

In the Power Forward program fact sheet, it was revealed that the programme, since its inception, has reached over 200,000 Nigerian youth in both school and vulnerable communities, providing them with valuable life skills information, with over 11,000 beneficiaries from its malaria prevention strategies and treatment, contributing significantly to public health efforts in the FCT.

In a noteworthy step towards gender inclusiveness, the Power Forward Initiative hosted a Menstrual Hygiene Management Awareness program, engaging over 2,000 female students from participating schools, by educating young women about menstrual hygiene.

The initiative fosters an environment where girls are empowered with essential knowledge about their health and well-being.