THE First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan,Oakley Half Jackets, said there is need to urgently address the issue of universal access to cervical cancer prevention and treatment in Africa.
She said this at the 8th ‘Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa’ held in Windhoek, Namibia.
Mrs. Jonathan, who presented the Nigerian position at the confab, said the Federal Government has procured and distributed diagnostic and treatment equipment to 12 federal hospitals in its effort to end the scourge.
“For the first time in Africa, Nigeria introduced residency training in clinical medical physics in 2012 for cancer care enhancement.
“This arose from the technical cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency for the conduct of the activity.
“Nigeria is also in technical partnership with the agency to procure radiotherapy and nuclear medicine equipment for ten of our hospitals,” she said.
The objective of this is to ensure improved access to early cancer diagnosis and treatment.
She explained that currently two hospitals, including the National Hospital Abuja and University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, offer nuclear medicine diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
The first lady added that efforts are ongoing so that by the year 2016, the number of hospitals that can provide nuclear medicine services would be increased to 10.
She said subsequently, those with radiation therapy will be increased to 11.
Mrs Jonathan also advocated for the inclusion of cancer screening into regular family planning, and maternal health services.
Dignitaries at the confab included eight African first ladies, World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General, Dr Margaret Chan, and other international donors and partners.