The National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) is seeking support from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to incorporate cancer prevention and control into Primary Health Care (PHC) services.
According to a statement obtained by Newslodge on Wednesday, the institute’s Director General, Usman Aliyu, made the call during a recent visit to the office of NPHCDA Executive Director, Muyi Aina.
Aliyu said integrating cancer into primary health care services would represent a significant advancement for the nation, particularly considering the high cancer burden it bears.
He said both agencies can identify and develop modalities for collaborative research in the area of behavior and implementation of services at the PHC level on programs and activities leading to cancer prevention and control.
“We want them to support the inclusion of cancer as part of the country’s integrated disease surveillance system. “We can see the possibility of integrating cancer as disease surveillance into the system that already exists,” he said.
Proposed survey
Aliyu said there is an urgent need for accurate data on the burden of cancer in Africa’s most populous nation.
He mentioned that the current data on cancer in the country are only rough estimates and do not accurately reflect the situation, which is a matter of concern for the nation.
Therefore, he asked the NPHCDA to partner with the institute to conduct a National Indicators and Impact Survey.
He said the survey would accurately and accurately describe the prevalence of cancer, economic impact and resource gaps of cancer in the country.
“We want to partner with you because you have the structure and expertise in place to drive this survey,” he said.
“We are also requesting that we form a technical committee with members from the two agencies. The committee will determine the partnership and collaboration between the two sister agencies in the area of health promotion, lifestyle modification and cancer awareness campaign.”
He said the institute already has a team that will design the partnership between the two agencies in launching and implementing a national cervical cancer screening program.
He said that this will serve as a follow-up to the vaccination program against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that is being implemented.
In his response, NPHCDA chief Muyi Aina commended the institute for the initiative, noting that there are many opportunities for collaboration between the two agencies.
Mr Aina said cancer detection and testing at the primary health care level is high on his agenda. “We can’t ignore cancer treatment because I have a special and personal interest in cancer care,” he said.
“There are many opportunities for collaboration between NPHCDA and NICRAT. “I like the idea of a technical committee and we will work around it.”
Cancer burden
Cancer, the second cause of death worldwide, is the uncontrolled growth of a group of cells in the body. It can occur at any age and if not caught at the right time and treated, it can increase the risk of death.
While current data on cancer cases in Nigeria is lacking, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported approximately 116,000 new cancer cases and 41,000 cancer-related deaths in the country in 2018.
He also said that if current trends continue, the cancer burden in Africa is projected to double from 1,055,172 new cancer cases in 2018 to 2,123,245 in 2040.