Cancer advocates under the aegis of Project Pink Blue have commended President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, and Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for their cancer‑control efforts. Buhari recently appointed Dr Usman Malami as the pioneer Director General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment. Governor Wike commissioned a ₦26 billion cancer treatment centre to address cancer and cardiovascular diseases in Rivers State, while Governor Ganduje built a new cancer treatment centre in Kano.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer reported that Nigeria recorded 124,815 new cancer cases and 78,899 cancer deaths in 2020. More than 70 percent of cancer deaths globally occur in low‑ and middle‑income countries such as Nigeria. A press statement signed by Project Pink Blue’s Communication and Social Media Lead, Chika Joseph, noted that these new government interventions should reduce medical tourism and increase access to cancer care within the country.
Project Pink Blue Executive Director Runcie Chidebe said, “The cancer community in Nigeria is really excited about this news and we are hopeful that this appointment will mark the actual implementation of the cancer institute—an opportunity to drive national cancer screening, manage the Cancer Health Funds properly, propel cancer research, and reduce the burden of cancer in Nigeria. As a patient‑advocacy organisation, we will continue to advocate and hold the government accountable.”
Breast‑cancer survivor and Project Pink Blue programme coordinator Gloria Okwu urged other governors to emulate Wike and Ganduje. She explained that most cancer services in Nigeria are funded at the tertiary level by the Federal Government, with little or no contribution from state governments, except for initiatives led by governors’ spouses. “Wike and Ganduje took up cancer care and made commendable strides,” Okwu said.
With ₦26 billion, the Rivers State government built and completed the Dr Peter Odili Cancer, Cardiovascular, Diagnostics and Treatment Centre, serving over 30 million people in the South‑South region. The centre is equipped with three theatres, radiotherapy and brachytherapy machines, a laboratory unit, and a nuclear medicine unit. In Kano, the government constructed the Prof Hafsat Ganduje Cancer Centre, which includes radiotherapy machines, chemotherapy suites, and laboratory equipment, and will provide treatment support to over 50 million residents of North‑West Nigeria. Okwu concluded, “These commendable steps give hope that other governors across the country will follow the examples set by Governors Wike and Ganduje.”
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