The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for the procurement of cancer equipment worth N38 billion for six federal tertiary hospitals.
The selected hospitals for the project in the six geo-political zones are the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina (FTHK), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
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At the signing ceremony in Abuja, Pate said that with the prevalence of cancer cases resulting to death, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMH&SW) in 2021 launched the oncology initiative which aims to improve oncology care through strategic medical investments that includes the establishment of new oncology and nuclear medicine centres, upgrade of existing facilities and deployment of modern medical infrastructure in the participating tertiary institutions.
The minister, who lamented the delay of the project by the previous administrations, stated that Nigeria has lost both money value and lives as a results of selfish interest.
Pate described the event as an important milestone that would end the tragic story of losing lives of millions of Nigerians who are afflicted by cancer.
He stated that all stakeholders in the implementation process of the initiative were consulted, and clearance from the Attorney General of the Federation has been received to sign the project at the cost of N38 billion.
In their respective responses, the chief medical directors of the benefiting teaching hospitals, expressed gratitude to the federal government for the initiative, stressing that the gesture will assist immensely in saving lives of numerous Nigerians afflicted with cancer cases.
Earlier in his remarks, the managing director/chief executive officer of NSIA, Aminu Umar Sadiq, stated that considering the proliferation of cancer cases in the country, when these facilities are put in place, victory for Nigerians will be declared when the facilities are commissioned between the next sixteen to eighteen months.