By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

The Chief Medical Director, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital
(ABUTH) Shika, Kaduna State, Prof Ahmed Umdagas Hamidu, has said that as part of the efforts of the Federal Government, under its Cancer Health Fund(CHF) program ,N1 million was deposited into the wallets of indigent cancer patients to support their treatments.

He spoke when he received the team of Hassy’s Haven Foundation, an NGO in support of cancer patients, during an advocacy visit in his office,to seek partnership in support of female vulnerable cancer patients.

The CHF is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health aimed at providing cancer treatment to indigent Nigerians and strengthening national cancer care.

He said the support which is basically for breast ,cervical and
prostate cancer patients, was to complement their efforts to acquire adequate treatment.

“Before a breast, cervical cancer patient can access the wallet, our social health workers will assess the vulnerability of such patient after which a team of medical experts will examine eligibility.”

“They will send it to me for approval and onward transfer to the Federal Ministry of Health who will then open and credit the intending beneficiary’s account with the non-withdrawable sum of N1m for treatment,” he said

He said despite FG’s efforts, some patients do not come for the treatment due to various constraints, highlighting the need for additional support, adding that some patient’s wallet have been credited but they are not coming for treatment because they don’t have money to bring themselves to the hospital.

“The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health recently created six cancer centres across the country and luckily for us ABUTH is one of them.We have a lot of versed experts in cancer treatment here and we are doing a lot to make the centre one of the best in terms of affordability and accessibility of quality services when completed,” he said.

In her remarks during the advocacy visit to the CMD in Zaria ,Founder of the Hassy’s Haven Foundation , Hussaina Mohammed Yakubu , shared a deeply personal connection to the cause of supporting vulnerable Cancer patients.

She said her sister’s eight-year battle with throat cancer, which ended her life in 2023, begun at Shika.

“I was there with her through the battle and saw how patients were running up and down for financial , emotional support,” she said, adding that the experience inspired her to be dedicated to empowering lives through compassion and support.

She said the Foundation aimed to provide interventions specifically targeted at the poor and vulnerable female cancer patients.

“We decided to start here because I witnessed firsthand the struggles these patients face.As one of the biggest and oldest facilities around, ABUTH is the ideal place for us to begin our efforts to collectively touch lives.”

“Through this collaboration, HASSY’S Foundation and ABUTH hope to alleviate some of the burdens and improve access to cancer treatment for women in need”she said.

She said the foundation will partner with experts to create awareness,to also promote early detection and early treatment ,to reduce cancer mortality,stressing that their combined efforts will represent a significant step towards a future where every cancer patient has access to the care and support they need.

The CHF initiative commenced in 2021 with six pilot hospitals – the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna state; the National Hospital, Abuja; the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, Edo state; the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.

Others are the Gombe University Teaching Hospital, Enugu; and the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo state.

Data from the Global Cancer Observatory showed that there were 127,763 new cancer cases and 79,542 deaths in 2022.

It’s said for both sexes, the data showed that breast cancer led the chart with an estimated 32,278 cases (25.3 per cent),followed by prostate cancer with 18,019 cases (14.1 per cent); cervical cancer with 13,676 (10.7 per cent); colorectum cancer with 8,114 (6.4 per cent); Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer 5,194 (4.1 per cent); and others 50,482 (39.5 per cent).