The founder, Medicaid Cancer Foundation and First lady of Kebbi State, Zainab-Shinkafi Bagudu says about 40,000 Nigerian children are diagnosed with different types of cancer in the country every year.
She made the disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday at this year’s childhood cancer month roundtable organised by the foundation.
According to her, the cure rate of cancer in children was about 85 percent, while about 80 percent of the cases in Nigeria and other low-income countries ended up in deaths unlike the high income countries.
She explained, “The cancer burden in the country and globally was under-documented as the number of diagnosed cases exceeded the estimated number.”
The founder explained that it was under documented following the poor diagnosis and low index of suspicion from clinicians and parents.
The First lady believed that the high index of suspicion by clinicians and the training of more physicians in that field was the way forward on tackling childhood cancer in Nigeria.
The head of unit, Pediatrics Oncology, National Hospital, Abuja, Dr Adewunmi Oyesakin, explained that about 400, 000 to 500, 000 children are affected by childhood cancer annually, with majority of them in developing countries and sub-Saharan Africa