FG targets 30% cut in cancer burden by 2030

The federal government has unveiled a National Cancer Control Plan aimed at reducing Nigeria’s cancer burden by 30 per cent by 2030, while acknowledging that funding for cancer care remains inadequate.

Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja at the opening of the Best of ASCO Africa 2026 conference organised by the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) in partnership with the Africa Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC).

According to the minister, Africa recorded about 1.19 million new cancer cases and more than 721,000 cancer related deaths in 2024, while Nigeria accounts for about 10.5 per cent of the continent’s cancer burden.

Salako said the government was pursuing a comprehensive approach to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research to reduce deaths from the disease, adding that a National Technical Working Group comprising clinicians, researchers, cancer survivors, civil society organisations and development partners had been inaugurated to drive implementation of the National Cancer Control Plan (2026–2030).

Responding to concerns over the cost of cancer treatment, the minister admitted that available funding was insufficient but said the government was putting additional financing mechanisms in place.

“I agree with you that it is not adequate, but it is difficult to move from zero to adequacy within three years,” he said.

He said the government had established a Social Determinants Fund to support cancer patients with transportation and other non-medical expenses that often prevent them from accessing treatment, while plans were underway to introduce catastrophic health insurance under the National Health Insurance Authority to provide additional support for patients with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

“It may not be at the pace everybody desires, but we are not relenting. If we keep doing it, I’m sure we’ll eventually be able to reach that pace that will touch every Nigerian cancer patient,” Salako added.

The minister also challenged African cancer researchers to validate global research findings locally rather than adopting studies conducted elsewhere without testing their relevance.

“My challenge to all our eminent cancer professionals is not to take findings from other studies and apply them here, but to replicate the research work in our environment to demonstrate their applicability,” he said.

Director General of NICRAT, Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, said the institute had trained about 140 early career scientists under its Strengthening Institutional Capacity in Cancer Research (SINCA) programme and awarded research grants to 24 researchers to strengthen local capacity.

He said the institute had also completed the first phase of Nigeria’s Cancer Genome Study, which seeks to identify genetic mutations associated with common cancers among Nigerians and lay the foundation for precision medicine tailored to patients in the country.

“The aim of this project is to identify the genetic mutations that promote the aggressiveness of cancers we see among Nigerians. From there, we can develop more targeted therapy through what we call precision medicine,” Aliyu said.

Aliyu added that three cancer centres had been equipped with new linear accelerators and diagnostic facilities, while additional centres were being upgraded to improve access to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

“We are not totally there yet, but we will continue to improve the services we are giving so that the centres can offer better care to our cancer patients,” he added.

Also speaking, Conference Chair and North America Vice President of AORTIC, Dr Abiola Ibraheem, said access to innovative cancer therapies remained one of Africa’s biggest challenges because many of the latest treatments were beyond the reach of most patients.

She said high treatment costs and limited insurance coverage continued to deny many Africans access to life saving medicines, urging African countries to collaborate on financing and procurement to make innovative cancer therapies more affordable.

“We need each other. One country cannot do this alone. One institution cannot do this alone,” she said.

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