Cancer Inclusion into NHIS would Reduce Economic Burden- Bagudu

By Nosa Alekhuogie

The First Lady of Kebbi State, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu has said that including Cancer treatment into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) would reduce the economic burden of the disease.

Buguda who made the submission while fielding questions from journalists at a virtual conference organised by an international healthcare and pharmaceutical brand, Roche in collaboration with First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), said an incorporation of cancer treatment into the NHIS would offset the humongous cost of managing the disease.

She added that the cost of healthcare which has been subsidised in Nigeria would not suffice to manage the treatment of cancer and as such a reserve source of revenue would be needed to off the cost of managing the disease.

“The Nigerian society is averse to the health insurance scheme. They are yet to key into the system that can help reduce the cost of healthcare.

“The average cost of managing the disease is N600,000 per treatment of six cycles. You need to have a pool of resources that the hospital can use to start off the treatment.

“We have to incorporate cancer care into the health insurance scheme as a way to encompass the cost of managing the disease”, she said.

The Country Manager for Roche in Nigeria, Dr. Ladi Hameed said the cost of the ailment which ranges from a few hundreds of thousands to millions is dependent on the particular stage of the disease and the event aims to walk clients through their journey, create awareness about the National Cancer Control Plan which needs support, demystify the disease, educate the public on modern cancer care and point members of the public to right procedures and inform the public to access treatment.

“If a patient is able to detect early, the treatment would be much more cheaper which would be around hundreds of thousands unlike when it has gotten to more complicated stages.

“We hope to walk with the patient through his/her journey and make treatment of cancer as easy as possible. We want patients to know where to go when they are being diagnosed to get specific treatments because cancer is not a one size fits all ailment. Several kind of cancer requires different methods of treatment.

“Through educative activities, we hope to bring healthcare providers up to speed with modern knowledge in cancer care, optimising the healthcare system, providing the right diagnosis so that patients do not have to go out of the country for these services. At the end of the day, we can turn what is known as a terminal disease to a chronic disease”, he said.

Meanwhile, the First Lady of Niger State, Mrs. Amina Abubakar Bello said part of the initiatives of FLAC is early detection of cervical cancer and to ensure financial access to patient.

“The partnership with Roche aims to serve this purpose and extends back to 2016. Roche has specifically paved the way to provide breast cancer treatment to women in some states across Nigeria as we work together in the joint creation of awareness amongst women about the importance of vaccination, screening and treatment.

We therefore call on government and other stakeholders alike to join us in meeting the objective of 90 per cent of girls to be vaccinated against HPV by 2030, 70 percent of women screened for HPV by the age of 35 and then again at 45 years of age and lastly that 90 percent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer are able to access treatment,” she concluded.