Karachi: On the 5th of October, 2022, the Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnosis under the supervision of Dr Afifa Razi Head of Department with team, along with the BDS student council conducted an Oral Cancer Awareness Video Competition: “Better than too late”. In this competition, students of third year along with house officers created short videos to raise awareness regarding oral cancer.
As part of this campaign, the students also visited Shireen Jinnah colony and ZU Kemari hospital where they took histories and performed examinations on participants. Not only were the participants counselled regarding the harmful effects of carcinoma-causing agents but also advised against the use of such agents.
To target the masses and the society the videos were shot and edited by the students who competed for a cash prize of 10,000 PKR, while runner-ups were eligible to receive 5000 PKR. The panel of judges, which included Dr Nabeel Baig (Consultant Epidemiologist CPSP), Prof Imran Alam, (Postgraduate Coordinator ZCD) and Prof Nuzhat Hassan (Principal ZMC), based their decision based on the quality of the content, relevance, creativity, and impact of the videos.
Through this first digital-based competition, an immense amount of talent was brought forward and students were able to amplify the impact of the awareness they were trying to achieve. Towards the end of the competition, winners were announced and awarded a cash prize. While the remaining participants were distributed certificates of participation and Shields of Honour were awarded to the judges.
