Ministerial Nomination as Member of National Focal Team for The IAEA/WHO Impact Review on Cancer Control for Nigeria

What an honour and a privilege to be selected as part of a 14-member team by the Honourable Minister of State and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa to work alongside the DG of NICRAT, Prof. Usman Aliyu Malami, Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) and his team to begin a much-needed imPACT review of cancer control in Nigeria led by IAEA, WHO and IARC.

Following the very comprehensive and insightful pre-meeting, the enormity of the mammoth task ahead was not lost on me but with the depth of expertise which International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO) bring to the table and their track record of changing outcomes for cancer care worldwide using these carefully coordinated imPACT reviews, I left with a sense of excitement that this could indeed solidify the steps already being taken through NICRAT to improve the whole spectrum of cancer care in Nigeria: from prevention to definitive treatments, palliative care, data collection in country-wide cancer registries as well as the research required to enhance targeted treatments for our ethnic population.

My sincere thanks for this recognition and trust…I am humbled to be working alongside such formidable names in the cancer space in Nigeria…and I look forward to working with stakeholders across the country whose contribution will be essential to ensure that this imPACT review fulfils the goal of significantly improving the outcomes of Nigerian patients with cancer for many years to come…

Dr. Tunji Alausa, Prof. Usman Aliyu, Dr.Mayowa Alade, Dr. lolade Adeyemi, Dr. Usman M. Waziri, Dr Nwamaka Lasebikan, Prof. Sani A Malami, Prof. Rachael A. Akinola, Prof. Imaobong Ekanem, Dr Musa Ali-Gombe, Prof Adeniyi A. Adenipekun, Mr. Awwal Bisallah, Dr Adamu Alhassan Umar, Prof. Emmanuel R. Ezeome, Dr Modupe Elebute-Odunsi MBBS MD FRCP FRCPath, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu