Raising alarm over Nigeria’s escalating cancer crisis, Vice President Kashim Shettima has revealed that the nation currently accounts for approximately 10.5 percent of all cancer cases and fatalities recorded across the African continent.
In a decisive policy response, he unveiled the Federal Government’s ambitious commitment to slash the country’s cancer prevalence by 30 percent before the end of this decade, underpinned by a robust national cancer control framework.
Delivering his address on Thursday during the Second African Primary Health Care Forum in Abuja, Shettima confirmed that the administration has formally adopted the Nigerian National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030 as the blueprint for combating the disease’s rapid spread.
Represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Dr Uju Rochas-Anwukah, the Vice President cited figures from the Global Cancer Observatory, which recorded more than 1.18 million new cancer cases and over 721,000 cancer-related deaths across Africa in 2024.
“The Global Cancer Observatory recorded more than 1.18 million new cancer cases and above 721,000 cancer deaths on this continent in 2024. Nigeria alone accounts for about 10.5 per cent of that burden,” he said.
According to Shettima, the National Cancer Control Plan is designed to strengthen cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care.
“We have answered with the Nigerian National Cancer Control Plan for 2026 to 2030 and a commitment to reduce our cancer burden by at least 30 per cent by the end of this decade,” he said.
He added that the government was expanding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening programmes as part of efforts to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health challenge by 2030.
The Vice President also disclosed that the administration was implementing measures to improve care for people living with sickle cell disorder, while establishing a Brain Health Desk under the National Mental Health Programme and developing Nigeria’s first National Brain Health Agenda.
He noted that non-communicable diseases such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes were placing increasing pressure on the country’s healthcare system.
According to him, primary healthcare facilities must be strengthened to improve the prevention, early detection and management of chronic diseases.
Shettima also highlighted the role of technology in healthcare delivery, saying artificial intelligence had been integrated into the National Cancer Control Plan to enhance cancer services and support clinical decision-making.
He, however, stressed the need for digital health solutions to be developed using local data to ensure they accurately reflect African populations.
