Okoye, who is also a member of the team of medical experts that packaged the National Cancer Control Plan 2018-2022, said the global cancer community was rallying countries to produce plans that would address their cultural and country-specific challenges. The new agency will replace the national cancer control programme of the Federal Ministry of Health. “The proposed reform is seen as a step in the right direction as the existing cancer control programme is ill equipped and under-resourced to cope with the challenges surrounding the cancer burden in the country.”According to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP- Nigeria), 30 Nigerian women die every day of breast cancer (a cancer that can be cured if detected early); one Nigerian woman dies every hour of cervical cancer (a cancer that is virtually 100 per cent preventable); 14 Nigerian men die daily of prostate cancer (another cancer that can be cured if detected early); one Nigerian dies every hour of liver cancer (a cancer that is preventable through vaccination); and one Nigerian dies every two hours of colon cancer (another cancer that is virtually 100 per cent preventable). The minister who made the appeal at the launch and dissemination of the National Cancer Control Plan 2018-2022 in Abuja, said the Federal Government alone could not raise the N93 billion. Adewole said the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) was working assiduously to improve the capacity of health workers to manage cancer patients.

Source: The Guardian April 19, 2018 04:07 UTC