When cancer treatment ends, the real journey begins. For many survivors in Nigeria, the aftermath of cancer treatment can be just as daunting as the diagnosis itself. Financial burdens, emotional trauma, and social isolation can all take a toll on survivors, making it difficult to rebuild their lives. But a new partnership between Beiersdorf Nigeria and BRICON Foundation is changing the game. Through its Supporting Moments of Care initiative, the company is raising funds to support cancer survivors in Nigeria, providing them with the resources they need to rebuild their lives and thrive.

At the heart of this initiative is the innovative R.I.S.E. framework – Rebuild, Integrate, Support, Empower – a comprehensive programme that offers microloans, vocational training, and emotional support to help survivors restart their businesses and reintegrate into their communities.

MARY NNAH writes on how this groundbreaking initiative is making a difference in the lives of survivors and redefining what it means to be a cancer survivor in Nigeria

When Beatrice Kehinde completed her cancer treatment, she expected relief. Instead, she faced an unexpected reality: her marriage was strained, her savings depleted, and no clear path back to normalcy. Her story mirrors that of countless cancer survivors. Cancer takes more than health; it strips livelihoods, fractures families, and leaves survivors emotionally and financially drained.

Nigeria records over 120,000 new cancer cases annually, according to WHO’s Globocan data. The most common are breast, cervical, prostate, and colorectal cancers. While treatment offers a chance at survival, the financial cost is often catastrophic. Survivors emerge from treatment with no capital to restart businesses, pay school fees, or rebuild their lives.

“By the time many survivors finish treatment, they have sold their assets, depleted their savings, and sometimes even lost their homes,” said Dr. Niyi Adekeye, Co-Founder of BRICON Foundation. “Our work is to help them rebuild confidence, regain financial footing, and reintegrate into society.”

This reality inspired Beiersdorf Nigeria, through its flagship brand NIVEA, to partner with BRICON Foundation. Through its Supporting Moments of Care initiative, the company raised ₦46 million by donating ₦300 from every participating NIVEA product sold.

The funds will support programmes under BRICON’s R.I.S.E. framework, Rebuild, Integrate, Support, Empower, a micro-grant programme, launched in partnership with Beiersdorf Nivea’s Moments of Care initiative, aimed at providing financial and mentorship support to cancer survivors in Nigeria so they can restart or relaunch their businesses and reintegrate into the community, which provides survivors with microloans, vocational training, and emotional support to help them transition from treatment to thriving.

Dele Adeyole, Country Manager at Beiersdorf Nigeria, remarked:
“At Beiersdorf, care is more than a brand promise: it is our corporate DNA. This initiative demonstrates how NIVEA translates the simple act of choosing our products into a powerful force for social good. By channeling everyday consumer choices into a ₦46 million lifeline for cancer survivors, we are affirming that care must touch both skin and soul. We are humbled to stand with BRICON Foundation in restoring dignity, resilience, and hope to survivors across Nigeria.”

For survivors like Ayodele Ojelabi, an 11-year leukaemia survivor, the initiative is God-sent, as rehabilitation has been about more than just physical recovery. Another survivor, Adewole Adepoju, who was given just six months to live after being diagnosed with colon cancer, shared how self-advocacy became his lifeline. “My journey taught me to live in the moment, to be resilient, and to be grateful for every day, and we can’t thank Beiersdorf and BRICON Foundation enough,” he said.

Their experiences highlight an urgent truth: cancer care must go beyond treatment to include survivorship support, psychosocial healing, financial rehabilitation, and reintegration into society.

This is where Beiersdorf’s philosophy of care beyond skin becomes transformative. By leveraging its brand power and mobilizing consumers, the company is closing the gap between surviving and thriving, one purchase, one survivor, one moment of care at a time. But this is not the brand’s first rodeo in the care for cancer survivors. In November last year, it donated the sum of N16,456,500.00 million to The Dorcas Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organisation in support of the foundation’s Back-to-School fund aimed at helping children who survived cancer to get back to school.

For Nigeria’s health sector, the initiative offers a model for multi-sector collaboration: private companies using their platforms to mobilize public participation and direct resources toward health equity.

The ₦46 million raised this year is not an end but a beginning. Beiersdorf has signaled its long-term commitment to champion cancer causes and expand the Supporting Moments of Care platform. The invitation is open: more partners, institutions, and individuals are welcome to join the mission of helping survivors R.I.S.E.

PHOTO CAPTION     

L-R: Head of Sales, Beiersdorf Nigeria, Desmond Quaye; Head of Shopper & Customer Marketing, Beiersdorf Nigeria, Abubakar Ali;  Co-Founder of Bricon Foundation, Abigail Simon-Hart; Co-Founder of Bricon Foundation, Dr Niyi Adekeye; Country Manager, Beiersdorf Nigeria, Dele Adeyole; Senior Brand Manager, Beiersdorf Nigeria, Mobola Fatodu; and HR Director, Beiersdorf CEWA, Eniola Onimole at the official presentation of NIVEA’s N46,693,500.00 cheque to Bricon Foundation to support cancer survivors in Lagos recently

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