Background
Low- and Middle-Income countries, like Nigeria are experiencing increased exposures especially of the younger populations to risk factors that predispose their populations to cancers. While Cancer screenings and vaccinations, especially for HPV have varied in uptake among different population segments in Nigeria, with increases awareness and uptake in the last few years, there are still many more unreached young people, in and out of formal schooling systems.

Objectives
The study assessed the prevalence of the risk factors among undergraduates, their knowledge of these risk factors and of the uptake of cervical cancer screenings.

Methods
This was a comparative cross-sectional study using a systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using the WHO STEPs questionnaire and was entered and analysed using SPSS version 21. Associations were tested using Chi-squared test. Results ere reported using appropriate charts and tables.
Results
Of 1200 undergraduates, 646 (53.8%) were male and 1062 (88.5%) were aged 15-24 years. The mean age of respondents was 20.4 (+/- 3.5) years; 673 (56.1%) lived on campus and 99.3% of them had at least one risk factor.
3.1% of the respondents were current tobacco smokers and 24.9% of respondents currently take alcohol with 11.2% classified as having excess alcohol use (> 6 standard drinks in one sitting in the last 30 days).
70.1% of respondents were classified as consuming unhealthy diets based on fruit/vegetable servings per day at the time of review.
Only 11.0% had adequate physical activity.
48.3% were classified as having poor knowledge of the risk factors. The respondents attending the public university were more likely to have good knowledge of the risk factors for NCDs OR 1.485 (95%CI: 1.485-2.398, p<0.001).

554 female undergraduates (227; public university, 327; private university) were asked if they had ever done a pap smear, only 15 (2.7%) had ever received screening via pap smears, all respondents from the private university (p<0.001).

Conclusions/Implications for practice or policy
Many of the undergraduates had at least one behavioural risk factor, and low cervical screening uptake. The University campus offers the opportunity to deliver tailored health interventions that can be scaled to other higher institutions.