FG flags off cancer treatment centre at National Hospital

The Federal Government at the weekend flagged off a newly completed radiotherapy centre for cancer treatment at the National Hospital, Abuja.

Speaking during the ceremony, Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole said it was a Linac radiotherapy treatment facility. It also kicked off the treatment of the first patient with the multileave Linear Accelerator State-of-the Art radiotherapy machine at the centre.

He said: “The Radiotherapy Centre contains a Computer Tomography Simulation Room, two bunkers, seminar rooms, office space, and radiation monitoring and maintenance rooms.”

The minister said the equipment at the centre was procured in 2013 but kept in a crate in the hospital, adding that he directed the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Jaf Momoh to get the equipment working, and with the support of the ministry put in place measures that enabled it to kick off.

He said that with the commissioning of the centre, radiotherapy treatment would now be available to Nigerians both in the National Hospital, Abuja and the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu State.

Prof Adewole said that a second machine of the same type and model donated by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) at a cost of over a million dollars ($1M) would be available in the next three months.

He said that the federal government would be investing in at least eight new radiotherapy treatment centres and chemotherapy facilities across all the geopolitical zones of the country in 2018.

Prof Adewole said that about 10,000 cancer deaths were recorded annually, while 250,000 new cases were recorded yearly in Nigeria.

Commissioning the centre , Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo enjoined Nigerians and corporate bodies to support the Federal Government in providing affordable treatment for cancer patients.