40m Nigeria women at risk of cervical cancer – Minister

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, during the week raised the alarm that 40 million women in Nigeria from the age of 15 and above were at risk of developing cervical cancer.

He also said the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix (2017-2021) has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

 A release from the Federal Ministry of Health quoted the minister as stating  this at a virtual stakeholders forum on the elimination of Cervical Cancer in Nigeria, held in Abuja.

He regretted that the cancer of the cervix was not only the second commonest cancer in women globally, but also the leading cause of cancer mortality in Nigeria.

”With a total population of about 200 million people, Nigeria has about 40 million women aged 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer.

“Available data indicates that the incidence of cervical cancer in Nigeria is about 33/100,000 and an estimated 14,089 are diagnosed every year, with eight out of every ten of them presenting at an advance stage resulting in a mortality rate of about 25%.

”In order to reverse this trend, we have made efforts to increase our national capacity for prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the cervix in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister also stated that the pandemic had distorted the federal government’s plan to fully implement some of the strategic plans in the health sector, especially those he noted, were time-bound.

To this end, he has tasked relevant stakeholders to review the implementation of the strategic plan, identify gaps and recommend ways forward.

A key-note address he presented at the occasion read in part: “There is no gainsaying that the pandemic has distorted our plans as a nation particularly in the health sector.

“This is probably responsible for our inability to fully implement some of the strategic plans, especially those that are time-bound. One of such plans is the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix (2017-2021).

”It is pertinent to reiterate that the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health under my watch is determined to spare no effort in ensuring that the global call for the eradication of cervical cancer by the year 2030 is achieved in Nigeria.

“This is one of the reasons that I decided to be at this meeting and to personally present this keynote address amidst other equally important engagements.

“This stakeholders’ forum is timely since it is holding barely one year to the expiration of the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix (2017-2021).

”It is imperative to state that its implementation essentially started after the launch in 2019. The main objective of this meeting is therefore for relevant stakeholders to review the implementation of the strategic plan, identify gaps and recommend ways forward.

“I am pleased to know that an overview of the strategic plan and the status of implementation will be presented to you.”

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