In a bid to tackle the growing cancer burden, the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, NICRAT, is working to set up preventive clinics across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, the Director General of NICRAT, unveiled this initiative during a recent one-day retreat for health journalists in Abuja, organized in collaboration with the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH).
Expressing concern over the scarcity of cancer screening facilities in Nigeria, Prof. Aliyu said there is a need for accessible resources.
The proposed tertiary hospitals selected for these preventive clinics will have trained health professionals and essential diagnostic tools such as mammography and ultrasound machines.
ALSO READ
He said, “With the establishment of these screening clinics, we intend to have places where people could walk in and be attended to by physicians purely for screening and preventive services.”
Additionally, NICRAT is collaborating with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to enhance the capacity of healthcare workers at the grassroots level to deliver essential cancer services.
The agency said it aims to establish a centralized national cancer registry as a step towards improving cancer data management nationwide.
Discover more from News Round The Clock
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
