Government Pushes to Link National Registries, as Pan-African Summit Hails Research Partnerships
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to a robust, data-driven national cancer control plan, declaring that strengthening cancer surveillance is fundamental to improving care for all Nigerians.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made the declaration at the opening of the Network for Oncology Research in Sub-Saharan Africa (NORA) Summer School 2025 in Abuja.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Research and Innovation, the Minister described cancer registries as the “heartbeat of evidence-based cancer control” and highlighted the Ministry’s agenda focused on data integration and cross-sectoral collaboration.
Echoing this commitment, the Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), Professor Usman Malami Aliyu, revealed concrete steps to bolster Nigeria’s cancer data systems.
“We have finalized plans to link cancer registry data with hospital records, mortality databases, and screening programs,” Professor Aliyu disclosed. He added that the Institute has established new population-based cancer registries and is rolling out massive public awareness campaigns across the six geopolitical zones.
The event also featured a strong call for collaboration between researchers and advocates. The Wife of the Imo State Governor, Mrs. Chioma Uzodimma, reported that advocacy initiatives have reached over 625,000 women with cancer education and HPV vaccination, while governors’ wives have led grassroots screenings for over 10,000 women nationwide.
“Your research guides our advocacy. Together, we can ensure that no Nigerian dies from a preventable or treatable cancer,” Mrs. Uzodimma stated.
The NORA Summer School, a major pan-African summit, brought together 155 delegates from 25 countries. A delegate from the German Federal Ministry of Research noted that Nigeria is growing as a regional research hub, revealing that NORA’s proposal ranked first among 100 African-German research submissions.
Reporting by Hassan Hussain