UCH, 11 Other Hospitals Get FG Approval For Cancer Treatment

The Federal Government on Thursday approved the University College Hospital, Ibadan and 11 other hospitals for cancer treatment to commemorate the 2021 World Cancer Day.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire who made the announcement in Abuja on Thursday said the approval was in line with the Federal Government’s ongoing cancer access partnership programme.

The federal government had, in 2019, launched the chemotherapy access treatment (CAP) programme that enables cancer patients to save up to 50 percent of the treatment cost.

Ehanire said the ministry is currently improving services in some hospitals across the country, with installation of radiotherapy machines already in advanced stages in UCH Ibadan, UNTH Enugu, UBTH Benin, UDUTH Sokoto,and ABUTH Zaria.

According to him, the ministry successfully developed a national chemotherapy safety (ChemoSafe) policy in 2020, which will be launched soon, adding that the government also established a cancer health management fund in 2020 to demonstrate its commitment to improving access to cancer care services.

He said the government had already developed an indigent patients’ selection criteria to ensure that only those who needed the fund benefit from it.

Ehanire subsequently urged stakeholders in the cancer ecosystem to join hands with the ministry to take the war against cancer to the next level.