The Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, has raised the alarm over the increasing incident of cancer cases in the country.
Osotimehin said that the country records 10,000 incidents of cervical cancer every year in addition to the observed increase in a type of cancer associated with HIV/AIDS infection known as Kaposi Sarcoma.
He said that 70 per cent of the 7.5 million deaths recorded from cancer in 2005 came from poor countries.
The minister, who spoke at a World Cancer Day Press briefing titled ‘Cancer can be prevented too’ in Abuja on Thursday, said that the Federal Government was committed to the prevention of the deadly disease, 40 per cent of which, he said, was preventable.
He said that the Federal Government had taken the decision to focus due attention and substantial funds to the control of breast, prostrate, cervical cancers.
He said this was because most cancer cases were presented at the hospitals at advanced stages which increases the mortality rate from the disease.
He said that the government would intensify awareness campaign on cancer treatment regarded as the most effective way of reducing the scourge of cancer in the society.
He said that if detected early enough, cancer could be treated at a drastically reduced cost since such early cases fell under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Osotimehin also said that the government had gone into a partnership with the Anderson Cancer Centre in the United States with an agreement to train six specialists in palliative care.He said that the government had also taken the strategic step of investing $2 billion in a partnership programme with the International Atomic Energy Agency “to build capacity and upgrade cancer management facilities.”
The minister said as part of the partnership programme, experts from the IAEA would train nuclear physicists, nurses, pharmacists, technologists, radiographers in the country.
According to him, the IAEA is expected to ensure “the availability of nuclear medical radiotherapy equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer” in the next eight years in 12 tertiary institutions in the country.
The listed schools are the University College Ibadan, National Hospital Abuja, the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital , Enugu , Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University of Maiduguri , the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria , and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe, Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, University of Port Harcourt teaching Hospital and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital.
Speaking also at the event, the Country Representative of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Peter Ereki, urged all African countries to make cancer control and prevention a priority in their national health schemes.
He also called on Africans to seek information on cancer and to ensure screening and early detection of cancers and cancer-causing infections to prevent the alarming rate of deaths caused by the disease.
He said, “The cancer situation is worsening in several countries and many patients remain undiagnosed and inadequately treated. According to the World Cancer Report, 2008, new cancer cases are expected to rise from 13 million to nearly 27 million by 2030.
“By then, cancer will be killing some 17 million people every year. In our region, there were an estimated 667000 new cases of cancer in 2008 affecting 314 males and 353 females and causing 518,000 deaths involving 252,000 males 266,000.”
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