The Niger State Ministry of Health has inaugurated an 11-man committee for the training of health workers on prevention and control of cancer.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Muhammed Makusidi, on Thursday, December 7, 2017 in Minna, the state capital, said the action was aimed to fight the scourge of the disease in the state.
“It is obvious that there was the need for us as a state to develop our own manpower especially in the training of cancer specialist that will man the proposed cancer centre,” he said.
He explained that with the committee, a lot of modalities would be put in place to chart appropriateways especially in sensitising the people about the disease.
“You see we cannot be categorical in terms of the number of cancer patients in the state because records are not straight here.
“A large proportion of those that come down with the disease, will rather patronise spiritual healers and this does not augur well for the patient and the records,” he said.
Makusidi said that inadequate record keeping of the disease was a major constrain in the estimation of the exact burden of the disease in the state.
By Mercy Osajiugo
