The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, says the sum of N200m has been earmarked for the treatment of cancer patients in the 2024 Appropriation Act, as contained in the Cancer Health Fund.
He disclosed this during a media conference to commemorate the 2024 World Cancer Day in Abuja.
The WCD is an international day marked annually on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
Between 2022 and 2024, the focus of the global observance is to ‘Close the Cancer Gap’ and the theme for 2024 is ‘Together, We Challenge Those In Power’.
They all focus on the global demand for leaders to prioritize and invest in cancer prevention and care, and to do more to achieve a just and cancer-free world.
The minister said the Federal Government had put in N1.3bn into the Cancer Health Fund in the last four years to enhance the treatment of indigent patients.
Alausa said though the fund would not be enough to do what is needed to take care of Nigerians, the ministry was mobilizing funds through a sector-wide approach by involving private sector participation.
He said, “That is not what we need to take care of the large burden of the disease that we face. We are working on mobilizing a substantial amount of money from two various pathways.
“The Health Sector Renewal Initiative, the big focus of that is sector-wide approach. This will enable us to mobilize funds and coordinate the current fragmentation we have in our healthcare system.
“We have the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, which is one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund but that is not enough to meet the healthcare needs of our vulnerable group and the people that need it the most.”
The minister added that the ministry would collaborate with development partners to direct funds to where it is needed for better coordination to avoid duplication.
He explained, “As we mobilize some of the funds from our development partners as well as the funds from the BHCPF, we will direct more to Primary Healthcare Centres and the National Health Insurance Authority.
“The move is to enable us to cover all patients as we move into the year, and we are fortunate to have a supplementary budget; we will advocate for more funding to be directed to the healthcare sector.”
