The Federal Government has established a committee to oversee the Cancer Health Fund (CHF), according to Dr. Usman Aliyu, Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment.
Dr. Aliyu revealed this during an interactive session held by NICRAT in partnership with the International Society of Media on Public Health in Abuja on Saturday.
The CHF, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2021, aims to provide cancer treatment for financially disadvantaged Nigerians and to enhance the national cancer care infrastructure. Initially, the initiative involved six pilot hospitals: Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, Kaduna State; National Hospital in Abuja; University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin, Edo State; Federal Teaching Hospital in Gombe; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu; and University College Hospital in Ibadan.
Aliyu noted that the CHF committee has analysed the concept, the framework, the operational plan, and the challenges.
He said the institute has finalised some of the issues and come up with a better model.
He said, “Most of the issues bother on the area of enrolment, visibility, transparency, and monitoring and evaluation. In the area of accessibility, the institute is working towards making it very accessible by employing the patient-navigation and referral system so that the patient can get on board easily and get on the platform.
“For visibility, there is a challenge because of the limitation of funds but we are working towards that, there are lots of commitments and a network of legislators advocating alongside non-governmental organisations and government agencies for improvement in this funding.
“So when that happens, there will be the inclusion of more centres and the operational funding will be different from what has been in the system before in terms of enrolment, evaluation, and selection of patients because the fund is targeted at funding indigent patients.”
He added that efforts are ongoing on increasing the fund in the coming years, and for another amount to be set aside for childhood cancers in the country.
The DG also stated that efforts are underway to establish a centralised standard national cancer registry and data plan in Nigeria.
According to him, the registry had not been in existence due to some factors, including lack of funding.
He said the institute is partnering with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency to train frontline health workers at primary healthcare centres on basic cancer screening techniques to promote early detection and early treatment.