In furtherance of its efforts to ensure that Nigeria has accurate data for cancer burden, the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) is partnering with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
This collaboration will see the both government agencies conducting a National Indicator and Impact survey on cancer prevalence, its economic impact, and the gaps in needed resources.
Lafiya360 reports that the Director-General of NICRAT, Prof. Usman Aliyu, disclosed this during a visit to the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NPHCDA, Dr. Muyi Aina, in Abuja.
According to a statement signed by the Head of Media and Publicity of NICRAT, Hassan Zaggi, the Institute also sought to leverage on the already existing massive structure of the NPHCDA to integrate the activities of cancer prevention at the primary healthcare (PHC) level, as well as designing and launching a national cervical cancer screening programme as a follow up to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine program that has been rolled out.
Prof Aliyu said, “We also want you to support the inclusion of cancers as part of the integrated disease surveillance system of the country. We can see the possibility of integrating cancer as disease surveillance in the system that is already existing.”
While lauding the recent launch of the HPV vaccination campaign by the NPHCDA, the NICRAT boss disclosed that two months ago, his Institute launched three important documents for the country in the area of cancer research.
In his remarks, the CEO of the NPHCDA, Dr. Muyi Aina, commended the initiative of NICRAT, particularly as it remains a very important tool for decision making in the health space.