The National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) has engaged key stakeholders in Kebbi State on integrating basic cancer prevention and screening services into existing family planning programmes.

The engagement meeting, held on Thursday in Birnin Kebbi, brought together officials from the Ministry of Health and the State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

The meeting also attracted traditional and community leaders, development partners, civil society organisations, and health professionals.

Speaking at the meeting, a NICRAT representative, Zainab Ahmad, said the initiative aimed to strengthen access to early cancer detection by leveraging the wide reach of family planning services at the primary healthcare level.

Mr Ahmad noted that cancer remained a growing public health challenge in Nigeria, with many cases presenting late due to low awareness and limited access to organised screening services.

She explained that family planning platforms offered strategic opportunities for delivering cancer prevention, screening, and referral services, particularly for women.

“The integration of cancer screening into family planning services will help bridge existing gaps, promote early detection, and reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality,” she said.

Mr Ahmad added that the initiative was being implemented under NICRAT’s NICE-SCAN Programme, in collaboration with federal and state ministries of health and other partners, to strengthen primary healthcare systems and generate evidence for possible national scale-up.

Also speaking, Ishak Lawal, NICRAT state lead for the Pilot Integration of Basic Cancer Preventive Services into Family Planning, said the institute was seeking strong stakeholder collaboration to ensure effective implementation and sustainability.

Mr Lawal, a consultant gynaecologist, disclosed that NICRAT had concluded plans to pilot integrated cancer prevention and family planning services in the state, describing stakeholders’ engagement as a critical step in the project’s rollout.

“The success of this pilot depends largely on the commitment and ownership of state actors and community leaders,” he said.

Earlier, the state family planning focal person, Hauwa Muhammed, while presenting the current status of family planning services, identified poor documentation as a major data quality challenge.

She also cited stock-outs of family planning commodities, irregular supply of consumables, and inadequate supportive supervision as key challenges affecting effective service delivery in the state.

A cross-section of stakeholders expressed commitment to supporting the initiative and commended it as a significant step towards improving preventive healthcare and reducing the late presentation of cancer cases in Kebbi State. 

(NAN)