Nigerians spend $100m on cancer treatment abroad

WORRIED by the huge sum of money
Nigerians spend for cancer treatment abroad,
amounting to $100 million, the House of
Representatives yesterday passed the Bill for an
Act seeking to establish a National Cancer
Institute for prevention, treatment and control
of cancer in the country to second reading.

The bill was sponsored by Sunday Karimi, who
represents Yagba/Mopamuro Federal
Constituency of Kogi State.

Karimi said the institute would serve as the
country’s principal agency for the research on
cancer related issues.

The lawmaker said the institute would play
advisory role to the Ministry of Health on best
practices in the management of cancer in
Nigeria, noting that the purpose of the bill was to
minimise the rate of deaths caused by cancer in
the country.

He blamed the increasing deaths caused by
cancer on ignorance.

He said: “The problem is lack of awareness on
the control of cancer. On daily basis, one
Nigerian man losses his life because of prostate
cancer.

“Cancer kills more than HIV and Malaria.
However, if detected early, it can be controlled
but most cases escalate because of lack of
knowledge. The purpose of this bill is to
minimise the rate at which people lose their
lives to cancer.”

Contributing to the debate on the bill,
Muhammed Usman, APC-Kaduna, expressed
worry that cancer had caused a lot of havoc in
the country and that one cancer treatment
machine in the country was grossly inadequate.
The speaker, Yakubu Dogara, who presided over
the plenary, referred the bill to Committees on
Health Institutions and Health Care Services.