FG to partner NSIA on radiotherapy equipment procurement

The Federal Government on Tuesday said plans are underway to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to aid in the procurement and maintenance of radiotherapy equipment in cancer centres in the country.

The Director-General, National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, Prof Usman Aliyu, disclosed this in Abuja at the City Cancer Challenge Initiative Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement Workshop.

Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy is a type of cancer treatment.

It is used to treat cancer and ease cancer symptoms. When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth.

According to Aliyu, who represented the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, at the workshop, the NSIA-Lagos University Teaching Hospital cancer centre has the best cancer equipment in the country and the Federal Government aims to replicate what is obtainable there in other centres.

Aliyu said this was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to upgrade the six cancer centres in six geo-political zones of the country.

He said, “So the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, wants to replicate what he saw in LUTH to virtually almost all the other regions in the country.

“This is because if you look at the major problem of our radiotherapy equipment, it is the frequent breakdown, but that has actually never happened with the NSIA platform. I think what the NSIA-LUTH have is up to 80 per cent to 90 per cent excellent actually. So that is why we are trying to get something similar in the entire country.”

He noted that the burden of cancer continues to increase in Nigeria, posing a significant threat to the population’s health and well-being.

He added that according to the 2022 Global Cancer Observatory report, 127,763 new cancer cases were diagnosed with 79, 542 mortalities from cancer in Nigeria.

“As we work towards addressing this challenge, it is crucial that we join forces, collaborate, and strategise to ensure that cancer patients in Abuja, and across Nigeria receive the best possible care and support.

“This workshop serves as a platform for us to identify and engage with the diverse range of stakeholders who play a crucial role in the fight against cancer,” he noted.

He stated that by mapping out the landscape of cancer stakeholders in Abuja, and the country at large, there would be a better understanding of the resources, expertise and gaps that exist within the current healthcare system.

The Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory, Dr Dolapo Fasawe highlighted that the workshop was critical to the success of the project.

Fasawe said this was because it was the foundation that would determine both the success of subsequent phases of the project and the overall objectives of the project.

“This is what this challenge will do. We will have community mobilisation teams in each of our area councils, we will educate them on what early signs of cancer look like in a woman and in a man.

“As for the FCT, I assure you that with this renewed hope administration, we will find the gaps that are increasing the prevalence of cancer mortality and morbidity and making people die more.

“With this project, there’s political will to fill the gaps. The gaps may be human resource, more advocacy or more cancer treatment centres,” she said.

On her part, the Director, Africa and Europe at City Cancer Challenge Foundation, Sophie Bussman-Kemdjo, noted that the organisation which is operational in 15 cities across the world would employ a framework that has been tested in the previous cities to enhance cancer care in the FCT.

“We will set up a governance body in the city that will oversee the implementation and the rollout of the initiatives and further do city wide and intensive needs assessment to be able to know what the pressing needs in the city are. That governance body will work with all of the concerned parties to prioritise what the main needs to be put forward are and from the priority needs, there will be strategic planning in terms of which projects to put forward.

“We at the city cancer challenge will build on our network of partners to be able to support better, so it’s really like local contextualisation, we don’t come to just say this is what you should be doing. We wi support the effort that is already being made,” she stated.