Health researchers, doctors, and policymakers are urging Nigerians to take vaccines that can prevent cancer. They say this could greatly lower the number of deaths caused by liver and cervical cancer in the country.
This message was shared during the “Policy4Cancer Designathon,” an event organized by the Cancer Control Centre for Research on Implementation Science and Equity, held in Abuja.
Professor Juliet Iwelunmor, a lead researcher from Washington University, told reporters how important it is for people to get vaccinated early.
She said, “We don’t want people to keep dying from cancers that can be prevented—especially liver and cervical cancer. If more people take these vaccines, we can stop these cancers in Nigeria.”
Iwelunmor said the event aimed to bring together researchers, students, and community members to find ways to turn science into useful health policies.
She added, “We invited everyday people, researchers, and students to help us find ways to use research in real life. Six teams shared their ideas on how to go beyond research and create action plans, policy briefs, and other tools.”
Some of the teams presented ideas that could help policymakers take action and save lives. Iwelunmor said that about 22 women in Nigeria die from cervical cancer every day, even though it can be prevented with screening and vaccines.
She said the goal is to get people thinking and working together to save more lives by using community input and scientific knowledge.
After the event, she said they would organize another round of meetings to connect the best ideas with policymakers. She hopes the ideas will be included in Nigeria’s updated health policy plans.
She stressed that these updated policies should not ignore the voices of community members who already have good suggestions on how to make research work in real life.
Talking about how winners were chosen, Iwelunmor said they looked for new and creative ideas that relate to real life. She said research is not enough if it doesn’t connect with people’s experiences.
She shared that her own interest in cervical cancer came from losing someone close to her. Although she isn’t a cancer researcher by training, that personal loss made her want to help others.
Dr. Folahanmi Akinsolu, a research fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and a professor at Leeds City University, also spoke about the importance of working together.
He said, “Cervical and liver cancers can be prevented. That’s why we didn’t leave everything to the government. People from universities also shared their ideas, and many of them were impressive.”
He added that some of the judges at the event were from the Federal Ministry of Health, and they saw many smart and useful ideas that could be continued even without a lot of money.
When asked about Nigeria’s progress in fighting cancer over the past 10 years, Akinsolu said there has been big improvement, especially in raising awareness.
He said, “The government started HPV vaccination in October 2023 and again in May 2024. This helped people understand that vaccines work and can stop cancer.”
He also mentioned that more pregnant women now know their babies should get vaccinated soon after birth if they’re born in a health center. He believes progress is being made.
But he pointed out that vaccine hesitancy is still a problem. He said more efforts are needed to educate people so they trust that vaccines are effective and safe.
The contest had six teams. Three teams—Echo, Trident, and CANREACT—made it to the final round. CANREACT won and received a prize of ₦1 million.
The winning CANREACT team included Esiosa Iyagbaye (a pharmacist and founder of Chronic Disease Mate for Africa), Eunice Ayeni (a public health student at the University of Lagos), Stephanie Ihensekhien (a pharmacist from the University of Benin), and Lawal Abiola (another pharmacist).
Iyagbaye said they are focused on preventing long-term diseases in Nigeria. She also leads the CANREACT project, which stands for “Cancer, Research, and Action.” It’s both the name and the message of their work.
She explained that their project started after researching Egor Local Government Area in Edo State, where they found a high number of cancer cases, especially cervical cancer.
Egor is a large local area with universities and hospitals. They wanted to understand why so many people there were affected and decided to focus on helping the local communities.
She said, “We know that both policymakers and researchers are very busy. So we wanted to create a way to bring them together with the communities, so that even small policies can make a real impact.”
Their project centers the community in cancer prevention and shows how involving everyday people can lead to better public health results, especially for chronic diseases.
