A Non-Governmental Organisation- St. Jude Global Alliance has strengthened its commitment to Nigeria through expanded partnerships and capacity-building initiatives with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and The Dorcas Cancer Foundation (TDCF).

The Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and Paediatric Oncologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Dr Nickhill Bhakta, made this known in Lagos during stakeholders’ engagement to support accelerating paediatric oncology transformation in Nigeria.

Bhakta, visited Nigeria for a high-level working visit, following its recent admission of TDCF as the first Nigerian non-profit organisation to join this global network of over 400 institutions across more than 80 countries.

With a mission that “no child should die at the dawn of life,” St Jude supports a global alliance to combat childhood cancer through research, education, innovation, evidence-based strategies and clinical partnerships.

Bhakta said the focus is on how to further empower the team at LUTH and their foundation partners, to ensure more children across Nigeria have access to quality treatment. He said currently, childhood cancer survival rates in Nigeria hover below 20 per cent, a stark contrast to over 80 per cent in countries like the United States.

Bhakta described this as “one of the greatest health-related disparities in modern medicine,” stating that St. Jude is determined to help close this gap. He said the initiative targets a global survival rate of 60 per cent for childhood cancer by 2030.

The Executive Director/Founder of The Dorcas Cancer Foundation, Dr Adedayo Joseph, said the visit highlighted the importance of collaborative action to address the unique challenges and opportunities facing countries all over the world and in Africa in delivering childhood cancer care.

Joseph, who also serves as the Director of Clinical Research and Head of Pediatric Radiation Oncology at Medserve–LUTH Cancer Centre, said for the first time in Nigeria and West Africa, young people with brain tumours, kidney tumours and even leukemias have access to and modern radiotherapy with techniques such as intensity modulated (IMRT) and Volumetric Arc Radiation is known as VMAT at LUTH.

Joseph, who is also a pioneer in hypofractionated radiotherapy in Nigeria, said the team at LUTH is currently undergoing an intense training programme with the St. Jude Children Research Hospital, which is one of the many opportunities this alliance opens up for Nigerian providers and their patients.

She said other such opportunities and partnerships will see the Medical Social Work department engage with the patient navigation programme of TDCF to ensure seamless care in addition to the potential partnership of the hospital oncology nursing programme.

Which expands pediatric oncology nursing training and practice in the country.

Also speaking, Consultant Pediatric Oncologist, LUTH, Prof. Edamisan Temiye, said the collaboration between Nigeria and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States is driving significant progress in the treatment of childhood cancer in the country.

Temiye, who also serves as a professor at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, detailed how exposure to advanced cancer treatment models during his visit to St. Jude in Memphis inspired innovations now being implemented in Nigeria.

Temiye noted that one of the most significant achievements of this partnership has been the dramatic improvement in childhood leukaemia survival rates in Nigeria as about 40-50 per cent of leukaemia cases survive, compared to almost zero back then.

However, he emphasised that critical challenges remain, particularly in the area of molecular diagnosis, noting that currently, samples are shipped to South Africa, where the volume of tests from Nigeria has begun to overwhelm partner labs.He said LUTH has acquired critical equipment such as a flow cytometer and fluorescent microscope to address this gap.

The Chief Operating Officer of TDCF, Korede Akindele, said the visit is a crucial opportunity to drive collective national progress and strengthen shared goals, such as improving survival rates and quality of care for Nigerian children facing cancer.

Akindele said St Jude’s presence reflects the deepening of a global-local alliance dedicated to saving lives and building resilient pediatric cancer health systems in Nigeria.