The National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) has begun the second phase of its programme to integrate basic cancer screening into primary healthcare facilities across Kwara.
NICRAT Director-General Prof. Usman Aliyu announced this on Tuesday in Ilorin during a two-day capacity-building programme for healthcare workers on free HPV DNA screening for cervical cancer.
Aliyu, represented by NICRAT Senior Scientific and Partnership Liaison Officer Mrs Deloraine Dennis, said the programme aimed to integrate preventive services for screenable cancers into existing healthcare platforms.
He said breast, cervical, skin and liver cancer screening would be integrated into family planning services, with the second phase focusing specifically on cervical cancer.
“We aim to create awareness among clients at the family planning clinic and ensure that they can then proceed to get screened for cervical cancer,” he said.
Aliyu said NICRAT planned to screen 200 clients in each state during the pilot, which is being implemented in six states, including Kwara.
He said the programme would gradually expand, with the aim of making cancer screening routine for clients attending family planning clinics at participating health facilities.
Aliyu added that NICRAT assessed three primary healthcare centres in Kwara before selecting Okelele Primary Healthcare Centre for the pilot.
“We intend to expand this pilot to the other PHCs that we have already assessed and across Kwara,” he said.
He said that while the programme was initially being implemented in six states, NICRAT intended to extend it nationwide as part of its broader cancer prevention efforts.
On Nigeria’s cancer burden, Aliyu described the disease as highly prevalent, citing 2024 estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN).
“Based on the current statistics released by GLOBOCAN, the 2024 estimates show that we now have more than 150,000 new cases annually.
“More than 50 per cent of these new cases result in death. So it is indeed very alarming,” he said.
Kwara State Ministry of Health State Family Planning Coordinator Hajia Bashirat Jatto commended NICRAT for partnering with the state to integrate cervical cancer screening into family planning services.
Jatto said the collaboration was the first initiative of its kind in Kwara, bringing cervical cancer screening into existing family planning services at participating health facilities.
She said the state had conducted annual cervical cancer screening activities at health facilities, targeting women of reproductive age.
The new integration initiative, she added, would further expand access to screening and improve early detection among women attending family planning clinics.
NICRAT consultant Dr Mustapha Yahaya described family planning services as an existing platform for integrating essential cancer screening into routine healthcare.
He said that although the broader programme covered all screenable cancers, the second phase focused specifically on cervical cancer screening.
Screening will involve healthcare providers collecting samples from women attending family planning clinics, he said.
Yahaya said women who test negative would be counselled to repeat screening after 10 years, while those who test positive would be linked to treatment and receive NICRAT’s support.
He added that the institute would support affected women throughout treatment and ensure appropriate follow-up and access to care.
NICRAT Kwara team gynaecologist Dr Jibril Abdullahi said cervical cancer was preventable despite its high mortality rate among women globally, particularly in Nigeria.
He said cervical cancer caused more than 600,000 cases and over 300,000 deaths globally each year.
“In Nigeria, we have over 10,000 cases annually and more than 7,000 deaths annually from cervical cancer,” he said.
Abdullahi said the high mortality from a preventable disease underscored the need for greater awareness, vaccination, regular screening and timely treatment.
He said more than 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases were linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of the disease.
Cervical cancer develops gradually, usually taking about 10 to 15 years after HPV infection to progress, he said, giving health workers opportunities for early detection and prevention.
According to Abdullahi, people with strong immunity may clear the virus within one to two years, while persistent infections in others can develop into precancerous conditions.
He said the intervention aligned with Nigeria’s National Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy, which aims to meet the global 90-70-90 targets by 2030.
“By the year 2030, we want to have vaccinated 90 per cent of girls under 15 in the country.
“We want to have screened 70 per cent of women aged 35 or older, and we want to treat 90 per cent of women with precancerous disease,” he said.
