World Cancer Day: Nigerians seek timely release of treatment fund

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the 2023 World Cancer Day (WCD), a group of cancer advocates has called for the timely release and full implementation of the cancer treatment fund.

The advocates made the call on Saturday during a march to mark this year’s Cancer Day. The walk was organised by Project Pink Blue in partnership with other advocates.

Speaking immediately after a 5km walk, Gloria Orji, the President, Network of People Impacted by Cancer in Nigeria (NEPICIN), said Nigeria bears a very high burden of cancer and many people die due to lack of treatment.

Ms Orji said cancer is a costly disease which many Nigerians cannot afford to treat hence the cancer treatment fund will save lots of lives.

She said only about 400 patients have so far benefited from the fund according to the information she received.

“The last time I received information about the fund, I was told about 400 patients have benefited which is still a drop in the ocean. We have about N1 billion yet to be accessed.

“We plead for this fund to be released to support cancer patients and help them survive the killer disease,” she said.

The Nigerian government in 2019 announced plans to roll out a cancer treatment fund as part of efforts to reduce the burden of treating cancer in the country.

Although the implementation has commenced, the cancer patients’ community said they are yet to fully access the fund.

A deadly disease

Cancer is a disease that occurs when changes happen in a group of normal cells within the body leading to uncontrolled, abnormal growth and forming a lump called a tumour.

Depending on where the tumour is discovered, cancers are generally classified into five major groups including Carcinoma, which affects the lining of cells that helps to protect organs such as the breast, lung, colon or prostate; Lymphoma and Myeloma, which affect the immune system, and Sarcoma, which affects bones or soft tissues.

There is also Leukaemia, which affects the blood, and those tumours that affect the central nervous system, which could either be brain or spinal cord cancers.

The most common cancers globally are breast, lung, colon and prostate cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Generally, it is estimated that 10 million people die of cancer annually worldwide, and that 70 per cent of these deaths occur in low-to-middle income countries including Nigeria.

Nigeria, as compared to most developing countries, is still lagging behind in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival rates.

This is due to many factors such as late detection, misdiagnosis, lack of medical expertise to treat patients, lack of chemotherapy facilities or radiotherapy machines and high cost of cancer management.

Although there are no established causes of cancer, some predisposing factors such as smoking, alcohol, air pollution, exposure to excessive radiation, viruses, genetic/hereditary factors among others have been identified.

Financial help

The Programme Coordinator at Project Pink Blue, Gloria Okwu, said Nigeria is a significant contributor to cancer burden globally.

Ms Okwu said the number of people dying of cancer in Nigeria keeps increasing every year due primarily to high cost of management.

She appeals to the government and other stakeholders to come to the aid of cancer patients to reduce the burden of treatment.

The MD of Transcorp Hotel, Dupe Olushola, said cancer is real and can affect anyone at any time.

Ms Olushola said it is important to create awareness on cancer and also ensure access to adequate financing.

“For us, this awareness creation is important because we cannot afford to lose our youths every year,” she said.

She urged the government and all private stakeholders to invest in health and improve the lives of its citizens.

World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day is an international event marked on 4 February every year, to raise awareness of the disease and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment

The theme of this year is “Close the Care Gap: Uniting our Voices and Taking Action.”

In a statement to commemorate the day, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said this year’s campaign summons like-minded people to be united to build stronger alliances and new innovative collaborations in the fight against cancer.

Ms Moeti said cancer remains a public health issue of major concern.

She noted that approximately 1.1 million new cancer cases occur each year in Africa, with about 700,000 deaths.

“Data estimates show a considerable increase in cancer mortality to nearly one million deaths per year by 2030, without urgent and bold interventions,” she said.

Awareness walk

The 5km walk, tagged: “Choke Cancer” had in attendance bikers, cyclists in full gear, skaters, ladies bearing placards, men and children.

They marched from Transcorp Hilton Hotels in the Federal Capital Territory through the federal secretariat road to raise awareness against the deadly ailment that claims thousands of lives yearly.

Medical services were also provided on the side for participants of the walk. Some of the services include screening for breast, cervical and prostate cancers, as well as blood sugar and Hepatitis B tests.