With the recent inauguration of a world-class Advanced Cancer Treatment Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) by President Muhammadu Buhari, Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF reports that the deal between LUTH and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), which bankrolled the project, can serve as a model to tackle the huge infrastructure deficit bedeviling the sector
Cancer has become a national scourge. Of the more than 8.8 million cancer deaths recorded yearly across the globe, Africa is estimated to contribute about 5.8 per cent, in addition to having a disproportionately higher per cent of inadequate cancer treatment facilities and higher incidence of cancer types with poor outcomes.
Of this figure, Nigeria accounts for a staggering 80,000 cancer deaths yearly.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 100,000 people are diagnosed with cancer yearly. On the average 240 Nigerians die daily or 10 Nigerians every hour from cancer.
Research has revealed that more Nigerians are likely to die of cancer in the next seven years, with a gloomy projection that the world’s second leading cause of deaths is likely to kill more than malaria and HIV.
The main reason for the deaths is not the prohibitive cost of accessing treatment; it is the dearth of quality healthcare infrastructure that can make early diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of the disease possible.
Expectedly, cancer patients who throng treatment centres in search of succour are left heartbroken when faced with the grim picture of inadequately equipped facilities that are sparsely located across the country. As a result, some of them are compelled to seek diagnosis or treatment in more than one hospital due to lack of or non-functional equipment and dearth of qualified medical professionals.
This has resulted in medical tourism, a practice whereby the affluent and the poor (especially the ones who succeeded in raking in donations from public-spirited Nigerians) jet abroad to access treatment.
Records show that Nigerians spend more than $1billion (or N360 billion) on medical tourism yearly, with cancer care alone gulping over $400million or (N144 billion). Popular destinations are India, United States, United Kingdom and other countries with better healthcare facilities.
But these sordid tales appear to be ending soon, as recent events in the sector indicate. Worried by the state of affairs in the sector and determined to reverse the ugly trend, NSIA opted to invest in the establishment of a cancer treatment unit at LUTH to ignite a new era of cancer treatment. The dream, which began last year with NSIA pumping $11 million into the project, has given birth to the NSIA-LUTH Advanced Cancer Treatment Centre, touted as the largest out-patient cancer treatment facility in West Africa.
Inaugurating the state-of-the-art centre two weeks ago, an elated President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the model would be replicated across the country to bring quality, first-class healthcare services to cancer patients in Nigeria.
‘‘We are aware that up to 40 per cent of funds spent by Nigerians on medical tourism is attributable to patients seeking treatment for cancer. Despite having an increasing number of citizens suffering from cancer, we, until now, had only two working radiotherapy machines in the country.
‘‘Working through the NSIA and LUTH, we utilised a PPP model that unlocked investment capital to directly address this issue. We will replicate this model across the country to bring quality, first-class healthcare services to as many Nigerians as we can. Indeed, over the coming months, under our leadership, the NSIA will commission two modern medical diagnostic centres to be co-located in the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State, and the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia, Abia State, bringing additional investment to Nigeria’s healthcare sector,’’ he said.
He enthused that the NSIA-LUTH project is one of his administration’s efforts to address the gaps in tertiary healthcare. ‘‘Today, we showcase what feats we can accomplish when we are together, unre-lenting in our effort to deliver a common objective. No one ever prays to be diagnosed with cancer, but if they are, what we have made possible here is the hope that a true chance of survival and good quality of life becomes part of the story of many patients with cancer,’’ he said.
The President promised to raise awareness about cancer, educate the people and facilitate early diagnosis, adding that this was part of his pledge to Nigerians four years ago to improve healthcare delivery.
Buhari, who performed the ceremony after the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential campaign at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, said his administration is focused on greater investment in the sector and has worked hard to ensure increased access to safe, high-quality healthcare for all.
‘‘We promised to effect policies that would remove debilitating constraints on the sector and create sustainable structures to strengthen our healthcare institutions. Today, we are gathered here to acknowledge the modest, but laudable strides we are making in fulfilling that promise. We recognise that progress in the health sector is handicapped by several bottlenecks.
‘’Accordingly, we have worked and we will continue to work to ensure that systems are introduced to bridge these gaps,’’ he said.
He said his administration has created an enabling environment for institutions, such as the NSIA, to fund high-impact projects, thereby delivering immense value for the people.
‘‘In the case of the cancer centre, we can measure this value in currency, but we prefer to measure the value in terms of its social impact; the number of lives of Nigerians that will be saved and positively affected as well as the impact of capacity building for our people,’’ the president said.
NSIA Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Uche Orji said the centre is expected to raise the bar in cancer treatment with outcomes that would be consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ‘‘This centre will demonstrate the economic potential of healthcare investments in Nigeria and catalyse increased private sector participation,” he said.
Promising that the project will deliver value, LUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Chris Bode, noted that with the centre, no cancer patient would need to travel abroad again for treatment.
‘‘We, therefore, want to assure that we shall give what it takes to run this centre as a pride to all Nigerians. NSIA’s investment is not only safe, but will yield ample dividend to encourage other deep pocket investors to open up the health sector as a veritable investors’ haven,” he said.
Minister of Health Prof Isaac Adewole described the centre as the single largest investment in cancer treatment by any administration since independence, adding that the facility can cater for 100 patients daily apart from providing training for over 80 professionals, among others.
When it begins full operations in a few weeks, the centre is primed to provide world-class radiotherapy and chemotherapy services to cancer patients.
Fortified with state-of-the-art equipment for cancer treatments, the centre has the capacity to provide advanced radiation therapy, a key treatment lacking in the country. It will provide specialised services, including external-beam radiation therapy (LINAC treatment) administered outside the body of cancer patients.
According to experts involved in its design, the centre also parades an internal beam radiation therapy that can be deployed using radio-active materials placed close to the cancerous cells inside the body. Additionally, the centre also has capacity to offer top-quality outpatient chemotherapy services, including CT simulators – a process for determining the location, shape, and size of the tumor to be treated – for therapy planning and improving precision of treatment, among other cancer services.
Besides, there is also Halcyon linear accelerator, an innovative cancer treatment platform that simplifies treatment delivery and maintaining high-quality treatment plans at increased speed.
An expert said observed that the era of frustrations, delays and expenses incurred as a result of non-functioning machines would soon be over, and that tales of patients going to various centres to seek treatment for the various stages of cancer would also be curbed.
The diagnosis and treatment efficiency, which the NSIA-LUTH facility will offer by its advanced range of equipment, means there will be capacity to handle more patients per time. This, experts said, would boost access to advanced facilities and reduce time patients wait in queues.
The centre opens another income- generating front for LUTH as it is entitled to 15 per cent of the profits made in the first 10 years after which ownership would revert to it. with this arrangement, Bode said the centre has added value to LUTH.
HealthShare, a reputable hospital management firm from South Africa, will operate the centre. This arrangement, stakeholders believed, would bring experienced expatriates who would work with Nigerians, and facilitate skills and knowledge transfer.
All this strengthens the prospect of sustainability, as the project will be professionally managed and maintained to deliver on the laudable objective of tackling the deadly cancer ailment head-on and catalysing private sector investment towards filling the huge infrastructure gap in the sector.
