Nigeria constructs ten new cancer centres

Nigeria constructs ten new cancer centres
By Abdul Semiu Babalola, Lagos

As a measure to stem the high rate of cancer, the Nigerian Government has concluded arrangements to establish ten new cancer centers across Nigeria, this year. 

The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi  Chukwu, stated this at the African Cancer Center’s first annual lecture in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.
The lecture is part of activities to mark the cancer awareness week.

The Centres

Though Professor Chukwu did not give details of the locations, He however said that the planned centres were part of government’s effort at boosting the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in Nigeria.

The Minister said government alone cannot tackle the menace of the disease and stressed the need for collaborative effort from the private sector.

The Guest lecturer at the occasion, Professor Wole Soyinka, blamed past leaders for not showing enough commitments at fighting the disease.

He said that the inability of governments to provide regular supply of electricity have led to environmental degradation with increased used of generators that pollutes the environment.

According to him, “Those who have been in the vanguard of this country’s affairs from military to civilian especially during the past four decades that over saw the total collapse of our electricity supply system deserve to be dragged to court and charge with gross negligence resulting in probably homicide, involuntary manslaughter, conspiracy to murder and at the very least the access rate to silence genocide”.

The disease

Cancer is one of the major killer diseases globally. It is one of the causes of deaths among men, women and children who are most vulnerable. Some of the most common cancers include, breast, cervical, liver and prostrate. The disease has become a global burden, requiring huge resources to tackle it.

The burden of cancer in Africa is estimated at about four million new cases   annually. According to WHO, the estimated burden of new cases in Nigeria should be between half a million to one million new cases annually.

The World Health Organization(WHO) states that ,”of the ten million cancer cases occurring annually, one third can be prevented, another one third can be effectively treated with early diagnosis, and palliative care can improve the quality of life of the last third”.

Lagos Cancer Centre

Governor Babatunde Fashola in his remarks said that the Lagos state government is set to build a cancer centre at its University Teaching Hospital Annex in Gbagada, as a way of addressing the high rates of cancer related diseases.

Fashola said the hospital will be fully equipped with facilities to treat cancer patients.
While lamenting the high rate of deaths from breast, liver, prostrate and cervical cancer, the Governor said that advocacy and sensitization programmes will be intensified to create more awareness on the disease.

Cokey