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Cervical Cancer Kills over 7,000 Nigerian Women, Affects 12,000 Annually, Says Fayemi
Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Bisi Fayemi, has disclosed that cancer remains one the commonest killers of women in Nigeria, saying statistics revealed that over 7,000 female gender were killed in 2020, with more than 12,000 new cases recorded Fayemi spoke in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, during a ‘First Lady Against Cancer(FLAC)’ Town Hall Meeting, targeted to raise awareness on the increasing indices of cervical cancer among women in the state and the nation at large, to mark the 2021 World Cancer Day.
The First Lady said cancer was a leading course of deaths worldwide, saying about 70 million death were recorded in 2020 globally due to the preponderance of the lethal scourge.
The First lady said efforts must be accelerated for the elimination of cervical cancer which she said had become the third common killer of women in the country.
“Cervical Cancer is preventable with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination. Early detection saves lives. We commend the renewed commitment of all cervical cancer advocates in Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Health, international and indigenous partners to deliver on the stated objectives of this strategy by 2030,” she added.
Speaking further, Fayemi said, “in Nigeria, cervical cancer is the 3rd most common form of cancer and 2nd most common among women. It accounted for 9.7 per cent of all malignancies in 2020, recording an estimated 12,075 new cases and
7,968 deaths annually.
“These numbers tell the unfortunate reality of cervical cancer in Nigeria and most African countries, a cancer that is largely preventable, treatable and can be eliminated.
“We are glad to see that the federal government is delivering on interventions within its control like the Cancer Health Fund which has now increased access to diagnostic and treatment services across the country through 6 tertiary cancer care centres evenly distributed across geopolitical zones.
“Our vaccine access programme will catalyse access to HPV vaccine for families that can afford out of pocket payment in the immediate term and at the same time, advocating for inclusion of HPV vaccine into routine immunisation to cater for those that can’t afford out of pocket payment,” she added.
The WHO representative in Ekiti, Mr. Emmanuel Eyitayo, saluted the government for its commitment to eliminate the disease.
“To complement these efforts, screening and treatment are very key to eliminating the disease We are gathered here to renew our commitment to eliminating the disease and we have to do just that by being advocates wherever we go,” he added.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, described cancer as the most preventable disease if ascertained early enough.
The Commissioner said: “We are all aware of increasing cases of cervical cancer. The interesting thing is that, it is the most preventable if handled carefully and treated quickly. We have vaccines for it.
“We have state cancer policy that deals with the elimination of the disease. We have our special funding for cancer in the 2022 budget. We also have a register to know the number of those who have cancer in Ekiti. I want to encourage you to be advocates of cancer . Let us subject ourselves to relevant screening and also encourage others to do same”.
In their lectures, Mrs. Olufunke Adetoye, Assistant Director , Nursing Service, Ministry of Health, and Dr. Olusola Aduloju, said Human Papilloma Virus(HPV) could be contacted through sexual relationship , which makes it expedient for people to stop engaging in multiple and unprotected sex.
“We should also take the vaccine to stimulate and produce antibody. It can be given to girls from age 9-12. It can also be given to boys, because they too can carry the virus”.