The Federal Government and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cancer care in Nigeria.
The MoU was signed by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, along with Aminu Umar-Sadiq, the Managing Director of NSIA, on Friday, March 22, in Abuja.
Pate said that the memorandum would aid the procurement of oncology equipment, which would help with cancer management.
He added that upgrading the equipment in the six designated teaching hospitals in the six geo-political zones of the country, was an important milestone.
This is expected to signal the end of tragic stories for numerous Nigerians who struggle to get cancer care.
According to Pate, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, are among the fastest-growing disease burdens in Nigeria.
He explained that the NSIA is to execute a project like it did in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in other teaching hospitals.
“So, NSIA would bring the technical capacity, the experience, and the governance system, following the authority’s relationship with manufacturers of cancer equipment.
“We have seen how they ran that of LUTH and it is a very important partner to government.”
He said that the government oncology initiative initiated with other hospitals before now, lasted for years without success.
“But this is a different path where we’re using a government-owned entity (NSIA) to execute, where the entity will go directly to the manufacturers, taking away the middlemen.
“My understanding is that we have almost 30% discount in the cost of equipment by virtue of going to the manufacturers directly, a clear value added of almost N10 billion saved because of the discount.”
Pate added that the initial appropriation approved for the teaching hospitals about four years ago remained N17.9 billion, while in 2024, the government appropriated an additional N20 billion for it, totalling N37.9 billion.
He, however, urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the relevant Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to ensure all funds for the initiative were monitored.
(Premium Times)
