By Abubakar Yunusa
The Federal Government has spent at least N1tn on cancer prevention, detection and treatment in the past year, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has disclosed.
Bagudu said the investment included N350bn for the establishment of cancer centres across the country and more than N300bn for cancer detection equipment.
He disclosed this in Abuja during a 5.4-kilometre cancer awareness walk organised to promote early detection, prevention and improved support for patients and survivors.
The walk, themed “One Walk, One Fight – Walk Away Cancer”, attracted cancer survivors, health advocates and political leaders.
The minister said additional funds had also been made available to state and local governments to strengthen cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment.
He, however, called for accountability in the management of the funds to ensure they achieved their intended purpose.
Bagudu said, “Cancer control remains one of the priority areas of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the health sector.”
He commended the Union for International Cancer Control, led by its president, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, for sustaining awareness and sensitisation campaigns across the country.
The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Maria Mahmoud, urged Nigerians, particularly women and girls, to embrace regular cancer screening, warning that early detection remained critical to successful treatment.
She said screening services were available at little or no cost in several health centres.
“We really appreciate and commend this sensitisation initiative for Nigerians. With this kind of massive turnout, the high prevalence of cervical cancer will go down,” Mahmoud said.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmed, called for greater support for cancer patients and survivors, stressing that the disease did not discriminate based on age or social status.
She said, “To all cancer patients and survivors, we see your fight and honour your courage. We shall continue to stand with you in solidarity.”
The President of the Cancer Society of Nigeria, Prof Abidemi Omonisi, urged the Federal Government, civil society organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to support people battling the disease.
He commended Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu for combining advocacy with financial assistance to patients and survivors, noting that the cost of cancer treatment remained a major challenge.
“She is not just an advocate but also contributes financially to supporting cancer patients and survivors because treatment is very expensive,” Omonisi said.
In her remarks, the UICC president said the organisation had worked with stakeholders for more than 12 years to intensify cancer awareness and strengthen efforts to tackle the disease.
She called for increased budgetary allocations to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
“We want to see a lot more financial appropriation for the fight against cancer. A lot has been done this year, and we want to thank President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative for investing heavily in the health sector for national development,” she said.
A cancer survivor, Farooq Oreagba, who said he was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer more than 12 years ago, attributed his survival to early screening and detection.
Oreagba urged Nigerians to undergo regular medical checks, insisting that a cancer diagnosis should not automatically be regarded as a death sentence.
“To everyone here, being diagnosed with cancer is not a death sentence. All I need from everyone is regular screening, as early detection saves lives,” he said.
He added, “My cancer was detected even when I was not ill. I have a few more years to go, and I am still not ready to quit.”
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