Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate has signed on Friday, March 22, 2024, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for the procurement of cancer treatment equipment worth N38 billion for 6 Federal Tertiary Hospitals in the country.
Director of Information, Ministry of Health, Patricia Deworitshe announced the development in a statement issued to the press on Saturday in Abuja..
According to the statement, the Minister while speaking at the signing ceremony on Friday said, with the prevalence of cancer cases resulting in death, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMH&SW) in 2021 launched the oncology initiative which aimed to improve oncology care through strategic medical investments that include the establishment of new oncology and nuclear medicine centres, upgrade of existing facilities and deployment of modern medical infrastructure in the participating tertiary institutions.
Prof. Pate who lamented the delay of the project by previous administrations, stated that Nigeria had lost both money value and lives as a result of selfish interest. He described the event as an important milestone that would end the tragic story of losing the lives of millions of Nigerians who are afflicted by cancer.
He stated that all stakeholders in the implementation process of the Initiative were consulted and clearance from the Attorney General of the Federation had been received to sign the project at the cost of Thirty-Eight Billion Naira (38bn).
The Oncology Initiative task NSIA with the proposed cutting-edge medical infrastructure to be deployed in the six Teaching Hospitals selected from the six geo-political zones include linear accelerators, iridium brachytherapy machines, computed tomography (CI) simulators, positron emission tomography (PET) scanners and cyclotrons.
The Coordinating Minister, assured of transparency and openness in the process, calling on EFCC, SON, and other Civil Society Organisations to track any penny being funded by the Oncology Initiative, emphasising that Civil Society Organisations should amplify to the general public as part of their advocacy.
In her address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Daju, Kachollom expressed delight for the project, stressing that the upgrading and establishment of the six Tertiary Teaching Hospitals should be commended.
She pointed out that this had shown the commitment of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards providing infrastructural facilities aimed at uplifting the lives of Nigeria especially in the Health sector.
Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Aminu Umar Sadiq, stated that considering the proliferation of cancer cases in the country, when these facilities are put in place, victory for Nigerians will be declared when the facilities are commissioned between the next sixteen to eighteen months.
The selected Tertiary Teaching Hospitals for the project from the 6 geo-political Zones are: University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina (FTHK), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
