The Federal Government says it is expanding financial support for cancer patients through targeted health funds and insurance initiatives, while increasing investments in local research, drug production and clinical trials to improve access to affordable cancer care.
The Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, NICRAT, Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, disclosed this at the Best of American Society of Clinical Oncology Africa 2026 conference held in Abuja.
The conference, organised in collaboration with the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer, AORTIC, was themed, “From Global Discovery to Local Delivery: Driving Africa to the Cutting Edge of Cancer Care.”
AORTIC said the conference, held in Abuja from July 10 to 11, was designed to bring the most clinically impactful abstracts from the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting to African oncologists, while creating a platform to discuss practice gaps and solutions for accessing innovative therapies, technologies and resources.
Malami said the Federal Government had introduced several interventions to reduce the financial burden of cancer treatment, noting that the cost of care remains beyond the reach of many Nigerians.
He explained that the Catastrophic Health Fund, domiciled under the National Health Insurance Authority, NHIA, subsidises cancer prevention, diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for eligible patients.
He said NICRAT also manages the National Cancer Health Fund, which provides financial assistance to indigent cancer patients.
“These are initiatives by the government to support the people of Nigeria suffering from this dreadful disease,” Malami said.
The NICRAT boss also said the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain would help accelerate local production of cancer medicines, reduce dependence on imported drugs and improve access to affordable treatment.
According to him, the focus is to domesticate expensive treatments by producing essential medicines locally and translating global research into practical actions in Nigerian clinics.
“What we are trying to do is domesticate expensive treatments by producing much-needed medicines locally and translating global research into actions in our clinics,” he said.
Malami said experts at the conference would review major studies presented at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting and identify those that could be adapted to African health systems.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Research and Innovation to the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Lolade Adewale, said the government was strengthening financial protection for cancer patients through expanded insurance coverage.
She said both the Cancer Health Fund and the Social Determinants of Health Fund would improve access to treatment for eligible Nigerians.
“Within the next year, you will hear more about it,” Adewale said, referring to ongoing reforms aimed at expanding cancer insurance coverage.
Adewale disclosed that Nigeria had commenced three immunotherapy clinical studies for the first time, giving patients access to advanced cancer medicines that were previously unavailable in the country.
According to her, drugs such as Nivolumab and Keytruda are now being provided free of charge to eligible participants through clinical trials, thereby reducing the need for Nigerians to travel abroad for such treatments.
The Immediate Past President of AORTIC, Dr. Miriam Mutebi, said Africa contributes only about eight per cent of global cancer research despite carrying a significant share of the global cancer burden.
She said research remained limited in several cancer areas, including cervical and prostate cancer, and urged African governments to honour their commitment to allocate one per cent of Gross Domestic Product to research and development.
“Stronger domestic investment will generate the evidence needed to improve diagnosis, treatment completion, patient experience and health systems,” Mutebi said.
The Chief Medical Officer of ASCO, Dr. Julie Gralow, said many breakthrough cancer therapies had not been adequately tested among African populations, making locally generated evidence important.
She said the Abuja conference would help determine how global scientific advances could be adapted to African settings while addressing affordability and access barriers.
Gralow added that the ASCO-AORTIC partnership was focused on workforce development, clinical research and training the next generation of African cancer researchers.
She also announced that the second round of the Sub-Saharan Africa Clinical Research Scholars Programme would open in October.
The AORTIC Vice-President for North America, Dr. Abiola Ibraheem, called for stronger continental collaboration to improve access to innovative cancer therapies.
“The therapies and technologies available in the United States are very different from what is accessible in Nigeria. This initiative is about closing that gap.
“There is power in numbers. The goal is for African countries to access these therapies together as one continent rather than individually,” she said.
Ibraheem noted that participation in the Best of ASCO Africa conference had grown since its inaugural edition in Ethiopia, attracting more countries, sponsors and partners committed to advancing cancer care across Africa.
The renewed push comes as Africa continues to face a rising cancer burden, with experts warning that late diagnosis, weak screening systems, limited radiotherapy facilities, high treatment costs and shortages of oncology specialists continue to affect survival outcomes.
A 2022 mapping study estimated that Africa recorded about 1.1 million new cancer cases and more than 711,000 cancer deaths in 2020.
For Nigeria, cancer burden estimates vary by year and source. A recent IARC GLOBOCAN 2024 fact sheet puts Nigeria’s estimated new cancer cases at 152,261, with breast, prostate, cervical, colorectal and liver cancers among the leading cancer types.
Earlier official estimates frequently cited in Nigeria placed the country’s burden at about 127,000 new cases and nearly 80,000 deaths annually, underscoring the scale of the disease and the need for improved access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
The Federal Government’s latest interventions are expected to support indigent patients, expand insurance protection, reduce treatment costs and strengthen Nigeria’s role in cancer research and drug production.
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