Aisha Buhari blames lack of awareness for cancer spread

First Lady of Nigeria, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has identified the lack of awareness as a major factor for the high rate of mortality from cancer in Nigeria. She made the statement while receiving members of the Nigerian Cancer Society on Tuesday, 25 January 2022 at the State House.

Mrs. Buhari said this was why the Future Assured Programme has remained active in creating awareness, holding screening sessions, and making referrals where necessary. She reminded the team that World Cancer Day, which will soon hold on the 4th February 2022, would provide a veritable platform to accelerate the fight against cancer. She called on stakeholders to collaborate and intensify efforts in ensuring the proper implementation of the National Cancer Control Plan to reduce the death rate in Nigeria.

Earlier, the President of the Nigerian Cancer Society, Prof Adamu Alhassan Umar reported that cancers have emerged as a leading health problem in Nigeria, lamenting the challenges to effective cancer control as daunting, but promising. He called on the First Lady to lend her weight to cancer control and assume personal leadership of the national cancer control war.

Others at the event include the President of OCI Foundation, Australia, who informed the First Lady that his Foundation was in Nigeria to commission a campaign tagged Arm Our Youth, (ArOY) and requested the First Lady to support the campaign to arm young people with the right information to prevent cancer.

A coalition of cancer survivors, the Network of People Impacted by Cancer in Nigeria (NEPICIN) was also at the event. The champion of the coalition, Gloria Orji, a Cancer survivor noted that cancer patients are stigmatized and yearn for better and affordable cancer care,  saying their organization is willing to support any cause that will better the lot of cancer patients in Nigeria