The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said the Federal Government intends to apply technology in fighting cancer across Nigeria.
Speaking at the Medserve Oncology Summit 2.0 in Abuja on Wednesday, Edun emphasized the critical role technology will play in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
“Technology is now playing a key role not only in the financial sector but also in the health sector and the current efforts of the government is to deploy technology to see how to cure cancer,” Edun stated. He noted that some forms of cancer are now curable with early detection and the right tools.
“We have seen that current statistics show that 30% of certain colon cancers are curable. Normally, when you hear cancer, you fear the worst. And we have been told here that all we have to do is adopt the necessary technological tools ourselves, we have to be part of the world effort and we are on course.”
The Medserve Oncology Summit brought together key stakeholders in healthcare to strategize on curbing the spread of cancer in Nigeria. Cancer is becoming an increasingly severe health issue, with rising cases each year, according to health experts.
In addition, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) also mentioned medicaids investment that is aimed st cancer treatment.
On behalf of Umar-Sadiq, Associate Investment Officer Kolawole Owodunni reaffirmed that $2 million has been allocated by the NSIA to train health care professionals in the area of cancer treatment.
“We have started this program in eight teaching hospitals across Nigeria.” he said.
Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, reiterated the importance of bolstering the oncology workforce.
“Cancer is becoming a growing health pandemic in Nigeria and other parts of the world, with the increasing number of cases that we see each year.” Pate noted.
He stressed the government’s efforts to fill manpower gaps and ensure cancer care professionals are trained to international standards.
“Equally important is creating incentives to retain this talent so we can contribute to the growth and improvement of our healthcare sector,” he added.
