A non-governmental organisation (NGO), HASSY Haven Foundation, has indicated its readiness to partner with Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) to support vulnerable female cancer patients.
The chief medical director (CMD) of ABUTH, Shika, Kaduna State, Prof Ahmed Umdagas Hamidu, made this known when he received the team of Hassy Haven Foundation on an advocacy visit to his office.
He said this was part of the federal government’s efforts under its Cancer Health Fund (CHF) programme, which deposits N1 million into the wallets of vulnerable cancer patients to support their treatments.
The CHF is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health that aims to provide cancer treatment to indigent Nigerians and strengthen national cancer care.
He said the support, which is basically for breast, cervical and prostate cancer patients, is a way to complement their efforts to get adequate treatment.
“Before a breast or cervical cancer patient can access the wallet, our social health workers will assess the vulnerability of such patient, after which a team of medical experts will examine that eligibility.
“They will send it to me for approval and onward transfer to the Federal Ministry of Health. They will then open and credit the intending beneficiary’s account with the non-withdrawable sum of N1m for treatment,” he noted.
He said despite the federal government’s efforts, some patients do not come for treatment due to various constraints, highlighting the need for additional support.
The CMD noted that some patients’ wallets have been credited, but they are not coming for treatment because they don’t have money to pay for transportation to the hospital.
The federal government recently created six cancer centres across the country through the Federal Ministry of Health, and ABUTH is one of them.
“We have a lot of experienced experts in cancer treatment here, and we are doing a lot to make the centre one of the best in terms of affordability and accessibility of quality services when completed,” he assured.
Earlier in her remarks, the founder of Hassy Haven Foundation, Hussaina Mohammed Yakubu, who shared a personal connection to the cause of supporting vulnerable cancer patients, disclosed that her sister’s eight-year battle with throat cancer which ended her life in 2023 began at ABUTH.
“I was there with her through the battle and saw how patients were running up and down for financial, emotional support,” she recounted.
She explained that her sister’s experience inspired her dedication to empowering lives through compassion and support.
According to her, the Foundation is committed to providing interventions specifically targeted at poor and vulnerable female cancer patients.
“We decided to start here because I witnessed firsthand the struggles these patients face. One of the biggest and oldest facilities around, ABUTH, is the ideal place for us to begin our efforts to collectively touch lives.
“Through this collaboration, HASSY Foundation and ABUTH hope to alleviate some of the burdens and improve access to cancer treatment for women in need,” she noted.
She said the foundation will partner with experts to create awareness and promote early detection and treatment to reduce cancer mortality. She stressed that their combined efforts will represent a significant step towards a future where every cancer patient can access the care and support they need.
It would be recalled that (CHF) initiative commenced in 2021 with six pilot hospitals – the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Kaduna State; the National Hospital, Abuja; the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin, Edo State; the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; and the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State.
LEADERSHIP Friday recall that data from the Global Cancer Observatory showed that there were 127,763 new cancer cases and 79,542 deaths in 2022, and from both sexes, the data showed that breast cancer led the chart with an estimated 32,278 cases (25.3 per cent), followed by prostate cancer with 18,019 cases (14.1 per cent); cervical cancer with 13,676 (10.7 per cent); colorectum cancer with 8,114 (6.4 per cent); Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer 5,194 (4.1 per cent); and others 50,482 (39.5 per cent).