Account for 97bn Cancer Center Funding, Reps Tell FG

By Uche Mbah

The House of Representatives has queried why Nigerians cannot be treated at the National Cancer Center after sinking a whooping  N97bn into it by the Muhammadu Buhari regime.

The House specifically mandated its Committees on Health Institutions and Health Care Services to, in their own words, “investigate the Federal Government’s implementation of the National Cancer Control Plan 2018-2022 to ensure its implementation”,

and“ascertain the status of all radiotherapy cancer treatment centres in the country to come up with a workable plan to subsidise treatment for cancer patients.”

A motion moved and adopted at the plenary Wednesday, which was titled, ‘Call for Federal Government’s Intervention in Cancer Treatment in Nigeria’ by a member of the House, Olusegun Odebunmi, put a stamp on it.

Recall that the President had last December signed a bill for the establishment of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment of Cancer Patients in Nigeria.

According to Odebunmi, in 2018, “the Federal Government launched the National Cancer Control Plan,to be implemented between January 2018 and December 2022, and with a proposed budget estimate of N97,321,725,422.53.”

“The House is worried that in 2018 alone, Nigeria recorded an estimated 116,000 new cancer cases with 41,000 mortalities and since then, the mortality rate keeps increasing, with breast and cervical cancer being the major causes of the mortality cases.

“The House is also worried that despite the increasing rate of new cases, only four out of the eight treatment centres in the country are functional.

“The House is concerned that Nigerians barely have access to cancer specialists for proper diagnosis and adequate treatment.

“The House is also concerned that for a cancer patient to go through a complete session of radiotherapy, an approximated amount of N750,000 is needed, an amount Nigerians suffering from the ailment cannot afford”, he said.