The President of Nigerian Cancer Society, Dr Abidemi Omonisi, has applauded the Federal Government’s initiatives in controlling the disease in the country.

He gave the commendation on Monday in Abuja during a news conference on the outcome of the society’s National Oncology Symposium and Annual General Meeting.

According to him, the National Cancer Control Plan put in place by the Federal Government and encompasses policies, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care has achieved good results.

He said that the plan, which was reviewed in 2023, helped to fill some required gaps.

He added that before the plan was operationalised, there were 33 cancer registries in the country but were now 44, making Nigeria the country with the highest number of registries that contribute data for global projection of cancers.

He noted, “In terms of treatment also, the Federal Government plans to establish six more cancer centres in the country, but we are saying that six is not enough, we must increase the number.”

Mr Omonisi, however, said that state governments had not done enough in the cancer fight, as many had yet to domesticate the plan to achieve the expected result.

He said, “There is this mentality that cancer control in Nigeria is the responsibility of the Federal Government alone. The Federal Government has done a lot, but many states do not even have a cancer control programme, and there is a huge gap between interventions by the Federal Government and state governments. However, NCS plans to interact with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to get their commitments on cancer control.”

Mr Omonisi, therefore, urged ministries of education and health to incorporate psycho-oncology as part of the oncology curriculum in medical and nursing schools in the country.

He noted that most healthcare givers and policy makers do not recognise psycho-oncology in the management of cancer patients, which adversely contributed to the various challenges patients faced during transition from active treatment to post-treatment life.

According to him, stakeholders in the cancer space, especially healthcare givers, must pay attention to the evolving aspect of oncology.

He said that this was because of a transition from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases, particularly cancer, and that medical schools must be prepared for it.

He noted, “In our old curriculum, there was no emphasis on oncology and now we have a disease that is a major burden to us, and our medical health workers are not being trained to handle the future. However, in other countries, oncology is a major discipline, so oncology should be incorporated in what we teach our students in medical schools.”

During the AGM, Mr Omonisi was elected as president of the society, along with a new National Executive Council for a two-year tenure, which would run from 2024 to 2026.

(NAN)