Salako Says Promotion of Cancer Care Collaboration Among Nations, Experts Aligns With An Integrated and Peaceful Africa We Desire
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has stated that the promotion of cancer care collaboration among African Nations, organisations and African experts within and outside the continents African is in line with an integrated and peaceful Africa which we desire so much. He noted this on Friday, December 5, 2025 at the Africa Oncology Collaboration and Innovation Forum held at Sonesta St. George Hotel, Luxor, Egypt. Speaking on the theme of the forum, “Bridging borders for a stronger oncology care future in Africa”, the Minister said such a meeting on the subject matter was particularly important in this age of dwindling overseas development assistance if the continent wants to leverage on cooperation, synergy and shared resources to overcome the challenge.
“With 1,185,216 new cancer cases and 763,843 cancer related deaths in 2022 according to the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBACAN) data, Africa faces a substantial challenge from this scrouge which kills more than war and is killing more Africans than AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis combined. This unacceptable morbidity and mortality figures are largerly due to increase prevalence of life style and environmental risk factors, ageing population, non-implementation or near lack of early detection strategies and poor treatment infrastructure exercebated by health inequities across the continent. Regretably, my country Nigeria being the most populous nation in the continent accounts for about 10.5% of the figure for Africa, sharing this unenviable top 3 positions with Egypt and South Africa.
“Against this background, Nigeria in the last few years has embarked on a journey to comprehensively reform her cancer control and care system first with the establishment of a specialised agency of the federal government; the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment in 2017 to focus more attention on cancers. (DG here, to talk on progress including with registry) Over the last 31 months since the coming into office of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, this priority attention has heightened with stronger political will, more allocated resources and an ongoing review of our National Cancer Control Strategies that accommodate some of the feedbacks from the the IAEA and WHO supported Impact mission to Nigeria in 2024”, Salako stated.
He said under the current federal government of Nigeria, cancer prevention and control has continued to receive more budgetary allocation with the establishment of 6 additional cancer centres of excellence, procurement of specialised equipment, human capital development and more across border collaboration.
“In the last one year, we have supervised the development of 2 strategic policy documents designed to further the overhauling of our national cancer control landscape. These 2 policy documents, the National Nuclear Medicine Policy and Strategic Plan and the Nigeria National Cancer Control Plan 2026 -2030 have strategic objectives to improve our capacity for prevention of preventable cancers, provide early detection and prompt treatment for cancers and address the high cancer morbidity and mortality figures in the country.
“I am hopeful that by working together in partnership and creating a movement for cancer care Pan-Africanism, we can get it right in Nigeria, in Egypt, South Africa and the entire African continent. This is why the theme of this forum “Bridging borders for a stronger oncology care future in Africa” is very strategic. We must build bridges that will foster continental collaborations focusing priority attention on prevention and protecting victims and family from cancer induced financial hardship or bankruptcy.
“In Nigeria, through the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination established in August 2024, we have embarked on an ambitious plan to screen at least 50% of eligible women and treat 100% of detected precancerous lesions by 2027. We also introduced HPV vaccine into our national immunization programme in October 2023 which has seen nearly 15 million Nigerian girls 9 – 14 years immunized against HPV infection as a strategy to prevent future cervical cancers. We are determined and working towards scaling up our cancer prevention initiatives to include more cancers and routinely provide cancer preventive services to Nigerians as a coordinated national programme”, the Minister noted.
He said as part of the national strategy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to protect cancer victims against financial hardship, the National Health Insurance Programme is at the last stage of introducing a catastrophic health insurance scheme to include cancer care coverage. The government is also implementing a national cancer health fund to mitigate cost of treatment and have supported the Nigeria Cancer Society to float a private sector led Cancer Intervention Fund .
“Our new National cancer Control Plan has been developed to allign with our overall national health policy and international instruments like the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative, Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) and Global Cancer declaration by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). The Plan scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2026 will serve as guide for every oncology stakeholder in Nigeria. It encompasses various strategies and activities for cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment; palliative care and survivorship; governance and resource mobilization, research, capacity building, quality improvement and patient navigation. Everybody including advocates, professional groups, researchers, the private sector, NGOs, development partners and even survivors have specific strategic roles to play in the implementation of the new policy.
“Politics, security and trade have in the past dominated pan-african conversations. Time is now to push for more on Healthcare Pan-Africanism to collaboratively tackle African health challenges. The concept of African Oncology Network to deep dive and focus on cancer care in Africa is therefore a welcome development. Nigeria is ready to contribute to entrech this spirit of Africa oncology collaboration and Cancer Care Pan-Africanism that bridge borders, shares resourses and information and focuses on a jointly developed roadmap to significantly reduce cancer incidence and mortality, and improve the quality of life of African patients with cancer”, Salako added.
He made it clear that Nigeria supports the Africa Oncology Network initiative and is prepared to work with brother African countries to make it the initiative of choice in Africa’s fight against cancer. In doing this, He called for it to be an all embracing movement involving the diverse cancer ecosystem of policy makers, credible providers, payers, pharmaceutical industry, entrepreneurs and technology firms with focus on value-based care, and the significant challenges of access and equity.
