The Head of the Department of Surgery, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Professor Olusegun Alatise, has called on stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector to take urgent steps to reduce the cost of cancer treatment in the country.
Alatise also urged increased investment in the health sector, saying improved funding and infrastructure would help curb medical tourism and strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to provide quality cancer care.
The professor made the call at the 12th Annual International Oncology Symposium organised by the African Research Group for Oncology in partnership with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
The two-day symposium, held at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, had as its theme, “New Frontiers in Cancer Care: Leveraging AI, Precision Medicine and Innovative Research in Africa.”
Speaking on the objectives of the symposium, Alatise, who is the convener, said the conference was designed to expose medical practitioners to current and advanced approaches to cancer management and treatment.
He stressed the need for greater collaboration among health professionals and institutions to improve cancer care and outcomes in Nigeria.
Also speaking, a physician from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Professor Peter Kingham, said the symposium provided an opportunity for medical practitioners from different disciplines to learn new techniques for managing cancer patients.
Kingham particularly highlighted the importance of applying artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to the diagnosis and treatment of breast and cervical cancers in Nigeria.
He said the adoption of innovative technologies could contribute significantly to improving the quality and efficiency of cancer care in the country.
A pathologist and pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Professor Fatimah Abdulkareem, said Nigeria possessed the expertise required to make significant progress in cancer care.
Abdulkareem noted that several advances and treatment modalities were now available, giving cancer patients better opportunities for improved health and wellbeing.
The symposium brought together surgeons, medical doctors, oncologists, gynaecologists, pathologists, radiologists, nurses and academics from universities and teaching hospitals in Nigeria and the United States to deliberate on emerging developments in cancer research, diagnosis and treatment.
