Nigeria leads continental push to cut cancer deaths
The Federal Government has called for stronger Pan African collaboration to tackle the continent’s growing cancer burden, warning that cancer now kills more Africans each year than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made the call in Luxor, Egypt, while addressing delegates at the Africa Oncology Collaboration and Innovation Forum, organised with Egyptian oncology institutions, African networks and development partners. Citing GLOBOCAN 2022 data, he said Africa recorded 1.18 million new cancer cases and 763,843 deaths, describing this as an unacceptable burden that demands coordinated continental action. Salako noted that Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa account for the highest cancer numbers in Africa, with Nigeria alone responsible for over 10.5 per cent of the continent’s total cancer burden, driven by lifestyle changes, ageing, late diagnosis, weak screening and gaps in […]