Prof. Usman Aliyu, Director General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, stated on Saturday that over 120,000 new cancer cases are documented in Nigeria each year.
Prof. Aliyu stated that by 2020, an estimated 78,000 Nigerians would have died as a result of the disease, with 44,699 being females and 34,200 being males.
Aliyu, who was represented by Hassan Zaggi, stated this at the seventh annual conference of the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists, which was held in Nasarawa State in partnership with the World Health Organization.
“With these gory statistics, NICRAT is determined to work with all relevant stakeholders to mitigate the prevalence of the disease in Nigeria through intense awareness creation and improved access to treatment and research.
“We have mapped out strategies to geometrically increase the number of cancer experts in the country through training and retraining of all categories of health professionals.
“In our commitment and preparedness to disrupt all forms of cancer and ensure those with the illness have access to the best care and support in the country, we recently launched three strategic documents.
“The three documents include the National Strategic Cancer Control Plan 2023-2027; the NCRA 2024-2027; and the National Strategic Plan for Prevention of Cancer of the Uterine Cervix 2023-2027,” he stated.
He emphasized that the documents include priority areas of action for governance, preventive, supply chain management, data and research, and surveillance, all of which are in line with the Ministry of Health’s current leadership’s goal of improving the health of all Nigerians.
