Federal Ministry of Health has Confirmed at least 250,000 new cases of cancer are recorded yearly in Nigeria. In a bid to curb the menace, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, on Monday, announced a nationwide screening of common cancers particularly cancer of the cervix, breast and prostate.
Adewole said this at the inauguration of the special health intervention project in Abuja on Monday. He said, "The ministry, through her tertiary health institutions, will be conducting free screening for cervical and breast cancers among eligible women and prostate cancers for men above the age of 50 years.
"In total, we plan to screen 250,000 eligible poor Nigerians who hitherto could not pay for these services. May I appeal to private sector players, including foundations, to support the Federal Government in her quest to screen Nigerians for cancers by collaborating with us? We are open to suggestions and advice to making this effort sustainable.
"The ultimate benefit of the cancer screening is to link those picked with early cancers to treatment and hopefully begin to proactively reduce our cancer burden. "Today, 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly in Nigeria"
The minister also revealed that 70 federal health establishments would get N 11 . 5bn as part of the special health intervention project .