Stakeholders call for free treatment for childhood cancer

Stakeholders advocating for effective cancer treatment have called on government at all levels to implement free treatment of childhood cancer in all government hospitals.

The stakeholders made the call on Saturday in Abuja at a programme organised by Ndiassam Foundation, an NGO, to commemorate the 2025 childhood cancer day, an event celebrated annually on Feb.15.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the programme is “Addressing the myth on childhood cancer”.

The stakeholders said that if treatment for childhood cancer was made free in all government hospitals, such burden would be reduced on parents.

Dr Ifeoma Ezeukwu, Paediatric Hemato-Oncologist, Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, said the greatest challenge limiting healthcare workers treatment on cancer patients was funding.

“The greatest challenge the healthcare practitioners have in providing care for these children is fund, funds is a problem in this part of the world.

“Management of cancer requires a lot of the parents struggling with funds. To even make a diagnosis to commence treatment, it is not available, but with the government presence, a lot of burden will be taken off the parents.

“We want treatment for cancer in children to be free of charge. Doing that, it will take a lot of burden off the parents. Children should benefit even if it is from the National Health Insurance.

“The insurance should be paid for the children, let the drug and everything concerning the treatment of cancer for the children be included in the National Health Insurance for free.

“Children with cancer should be carried along to benefit from the Cancer Health Fund (CHF),” she stressed.

According to her, some children have genetic disposition to cancer.

She also said that childhood cancer had no specific symptoms, but could come like any other illness like typhoid, malaria, fever and others.

Ezeukwu said that advocacy was the only way to make people aware of childhood cancer, stressing that all media channels handle should be used to propagate the awareness.

Dr Popoola Olayinka, the Interim Chairman, Nigeria Cancer Society, FCT Branch, called for continuous innovation regarding the treatment of childhood cancer.

According to Olayinka, an oncologist, said the recent single most important breakthrough in the treatment of childhood cancer is the climarinantigin receptor cells therapy, involving the utilisation of cells from the immune system.

“What has been done is to recognise certain cell in the immune system that are capable but are weak,, such cells are harvested and they are re-engineered in the laboratory to make it stronger again and refill back into the children.

“This has produced significant result. Right now, this seems the way to go in the management of most of the cancers. It can work very well in some leukemias, and trial is ongoing in other areas of childhood cancers,” he said.

Nsikka Ekere, Volunteer Communication Manager for Ndiassam Foundation, called on government to partner with NGOs advocating for cancer treatment to help raise awareness about childhood, adding that many did not know it existed.

He said that statistic from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the number of children and adolescents developing cancer prompted Ndiassam to go into raising awareness about cancer.