Health

Cancer may afflict 30m people globally by 2030- NGO

Published

4 years ago

October 12, 2021

An NGO, the Dove-Haven Foundation (DHF), quoting Global Cancer Statistics (GLOBOCAN) has said that about 30 million people will be living with cancer globally by the year 2030 if nothing was done.

DHF is a not-for-profit, non-political, Non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area (LGA), Kogi State, Nigeria, with a focus on rural community cancer awareness.

The DHF’s Executive Director, Dr Ekundayo Samuel, made the disclosure at a sensitisation program on Monday, in Isanlu, tagged: ”The role of transportation workers in cancer control”,

Samuel stated that the event was organised to enlighten transportation workers and other relevant stakeholders on their role in cancer control and how they can join the fight against cancer.

The continuous rise in the incidence of cancer in Nigeria, Africa, and globally was of great concern, he said while emphasising projections by GLOBOCAN that by the year 2030, about 30 million people will be living with cancer.

He added that the projection also showed that one in two persons would have one form of cancer or another by 2030 if nothing was done.

Represented by Mrs Eunice Olure, a Community Health and extension worker of DHF, Samuel stressed that Nigeria had an estimated 100,000 new cases of cancer in 2020, as reported by GLOBOCAN.

He reiterated that the event was organised in pursuit of the organisation’s aim of reducing the threats posed by cancer in the spirit of giving back to society.

”We believe in inclusion because that is the best and quickest way to overcome the plague called cancer. Everybody needs to be involved”, he said.

He noted that the organisation’s vision was to see a world free of cancer threats, saying that activities were lined up for the day to allow the participants to play their part in cancer control.

A guest speaker, Dr Nasir Abdullah, Medical Officer-in-Charge, General Hospital, Isanlu, who spoke on “Cancer and its causes”, said that cancer always resulted from the inappropriate, abnormal, and excessive procreation of cells.

According to Abdullah, cancer can affect any part of the body, but mostly affects five body parts, including the breast, lungs, prostate, cervix, and intestines; and does not discriminate based on age, status, race, or colour.

He emphasised the need for early presentation for screening and stern evaluation of one’s lifestyle.

On her part, Mrs Emily Baba, the Family Planning Lead, Yagba East LGA, spoke on “Cancer control and the role of the transport workers in preventing the spread of cancer”.

She said that exhausts from mechanical machines like motorcycles, tricycles, and cars were the major triggers of cancer formation urging people to be conscious and more sensitive to changes in their body, and regularly consult medical personnel for advice and screening, if necessary.

She advised people to eat a healthy diet and engage in adequate physical exercise for at least 30 minutes daily.

In their separate comments, the Chairmen of Branch 1 and 2, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Yagba East, Sunday Abiodun and Femi Job, respectively, thanked DHF for including them in the fight against cancer.

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Health

Stakeholders Applaud A360 Impact On Adolescent Health

Published

3 days ago

November 28, 2025

The Gleamer

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health and development sector say the institutionalisation and scale-up of the Adolescent 360 (A360) Amplify project have greatly improved adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes in participating states.

They made this known at a dissemination meeting on the project on Thursday in Abuja.

It was implemented by the Society for Family Health (SFH) and partners, and later adopted into government systems following documented successes.

Launched in 2020, the A360 project was designed to provide adolescent girls with access to sexual and reproductive health information, youth-friendly services and economic empowerment opportunities.

The programme was implemented in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna and Nasarawa States using a human-centred design approach that engaged governments, communities and young people to improve uptake of family planning and maternal health services.

Dr Aisha Sadiq, Permanent Secretary, Kaduna State Ministry of Health, said institutionalising A360 had delivered measurable improvements in adolescent health indicators and community wellbeing.

She said Kaduna currently provides A360 youth-friendly services in 623 Primary Health Care (PHC) centres.

The Matasan Mata Arewa (MMA) initiative, she added, had reached 75 communities and empowered more than 15,000 girls with entrepreneurship skills and seed capital.

According to her, more than 60,000 girls have accessed contraceptives through the programme, with a reduction in discontinuation rates as more young women sustain use and transition to maternal and child health services.

“These changes have shown a marked reduction in maternal mortality among those communities. It has also reduced negative neonatal outcomes,” she said.

Sadiq recounted an elderly woman’s remarks from a programme community, calling them a strong reflection of the project’s success.

“These girls have spent their whole lives believing they will remain tolerable liabilities to the husbands they marry, but now they are realising the value of becoming appreciated assets,” she quoted.

Sadiq added that Kaduna’s 16 per cent health budget allocation and the integration of A360 activities into the state’s 2025 Annual Operational Plan demonstrated sustained political commitment.

Also speaking, Dr Omokhudu Idogho, Managing Director, SFH, said the four implementing states had successfully embedded A360 approaches into government systems, community structures and routine health practices.

He was represented by Dr Kenechukwu Erichalo, Deputy Managing Director, Project Delivery.

Idogho said the project had reached more than one million adolescent girls with family planning services and engaged over 500,000 others with comprehensive sexuality education messaging.

“We recorded more than 50,000 antenatal care visits, ensuring that girls received skilled care that saved lives, and supported over half a million girls to learn income-generating skills,” he said.

He said A360 pioneered the MMA and Niger Girls models, demonstrating that culturally sensitive, human-centred programmes can succeed even in conservative communities.

“Our most significant achievement is institutionalisation. Today, all 1,750 A360-supported facilities are fully government-led,” he added.

Mrs Roselyn Odeh, A360 Project Lead, said the initiative was developed in response to poor adolescent health indices in the country.

She said the programme ensured respectful, youth-friendly services at PHCs and supported school reintegration and entrepreneurship for girls.

She said the decision to scale the programme in northern states was based on data.

“When you look at maternal mortality among young people, you know the section of the country it is coming from. Data drove our decisions in alignment with government priorities,” she said.

Odeh identified challenges including weak PHC infrastructure, funding gaps, commodity shortages and the need to engage husbands in conservative communities.

“But creatively, we worked with governments to mobilise domestic funding through health revolving funds and the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund,” she said.

Mr Sagir Musa, Commissioner for Youth, Jigawa State, assured of continued commitment from implementing states to sustain and expand the project’s gains.

“This project may be nearing closure, but for us, it has just begun. We have gone beyond its life cycle to embed its approaches in the things we do,” he said.

The dissemination meeting brought together policymakers, community leaders, development partners and beneficiaries to review lessons learned and outline future priorities for scaling adolescent health interventions nationwide.

(NAN)

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