12 Nov Nigerian Government to support priority cancer medicine by 50 percent subsidy
The Federal Government of Nigeria has launched a program to support cancer patients and possibly reduce the rate of cancer-related deaths in the country under the National Cancer Control program. The program, entitled Chemotherapy Access Treatment Program (CAP), is the result of a two-day planning session the Ministry of Health conducted in September. CAP, the ministry noted, is designed to ease the financial burden by subsiding cancer treatment by at least 50 per cent.
The government, represented by Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, asserted that the objective is to increase access to high-quality essential cancer drugs and enable thousands of additional Nigerians to access care.
Mamora, at the CAP launch event in October, said the program is a response to the World Health Organisation’s research results on Nigeria’s cancer survival rates. According to the report, Nigeria records over 70,000 deaths due to cancer yearly, and only about 30 per cent of patients receiving cancer treatment in Nigeria survive.
More worrisome is the fact that these stats only cover those who seek treatment. Mamora highlighted that the high cost of treatment is a barrier between many Nigerians and the medical aid they need.
Mamora alleged that some cancer drugs were out of stock in public hospitals, forcing patients to get them from pharmacies where the prices were out of reach. He also denounced the abondance of fake drugs in the Nigerian market and accused sellers of worsening rather than the market and patients’ conditions.
He assured that with the CAP, cancer patients in Nigeria now have access to lower-priced, high-quality treatment at hospitals and pharmacies and reduce the burden of out-of-pocket payments and risk of buying counterfeit medicine.
The core mission here at Visit A Hospital Today is to ensure that financial support and support initiatives (like CAP) are available to low-income families and their beneficiaries. We intend to gather information about the program for a more intensive post, and we’re looking forward to seeing the benefits.
Sources: The daily trust, Voice of Nigeria
No Comments