Improved research, awareness campaign necessary to fight cancer

The Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), Usman Aliyu, on Saturday, said the institute is determined to disrupt cancer in Nigeria through intense awareness creation and improved access to treatment and research.

Mr Aliyu made this known at the 7th Annual Conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

Represented by the Chief Executive Officer (Publicity) of the institute, Hassan Zaggi, Mr Aliyu said incidences and deaths occasioned by the disease are alarming, noting that the institute is prioritising awareness creation to enlighten the public.

He said available data shows that in 2020, an estimated 78,000 people died as a result of cancer-related complications in Nigeria.

Mr Aliyu said out of this number, 44,699 were females while 34,200 were males.

“With these statistics, NICRAT is determined to work with all relevant stakeholders to disrupt cancer in Nigeria through intense awareness creation and improved access to treatment and research,” he said.

He said the institute has mapped out strategies to increase the number of cancer experts by training and retraining different categories of health workers in the country.

He said as part of the commitment to ensure that those with the disease have access to quality care, the government recently launched three strategic documents.

“The three documents include National Strategic Cancer Control Plan 2023-2027; National Cancer Research Agenda 2024-2027, and National Strategic Plan for Prevention of Cancer of Uterine Cervix 2023-2027,” he said.

“All these documents have priority areas of action that address governance, prevention, supply chain management, data and research as well as surveillance which are in line with the aim of the current leadership to improve the health of all Nigerians.”

Conference

The conference, themed, “Health Security: Nigeria’s Efforts to Achieve Universal Health Coverage,” was organised by ANHEJ in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The president of the association, Joseph Kadiri, said the theme of the conference is prompted by the global discourse surrounding health security which he noted has been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He underscored the pivotal role of the conference as a stock-taking forum, evaluating progress in critical areas of the country’s health sector and scrutinising federal policies and programmes.

Improved partnership

Meanwhile, Mr Aliyu, the research institute boss, said his organisation is building partnerships with various stakeholders to win the fight against cancer in Nigeria.

“Since I assumed office over nine months ago, we have worked hard to lay a solid foundation for Nigeria to join the league of countries that have all the sophistication to control, prevent, treat and conduct cancer research,” he said.

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“With the understanding that cancer care and treatment need a multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral approach, over the past few months, we have built partnerships with relevant agencies of government including the NPHCDA, NHIA and CSOs working in the area of cancer.”

He said the institute has also engaged in international collaboration to attract support from reputable global organisations that are into cancer care and research.

Mr Aliyu sought media support and the support of other critical stakeholders in the fight against cancer.

He urged Nigerians to pay close attention to their health by visiting the nearest health facility for regular checks.