TheCable

The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) says it has donated a linear accelerator radiotherapy equipment worth over $1 million to the National Hospital, Abuja.

Speaking an event to commemorate the world cancer day on Sunday, Akinwumi Fajola, SNEPCo’s representative, said the donation was one of the company’s ways of giving back to the society.

Fajola explained that the gesture was in the bid to strengthen the quality of healthcare services in Nigeria.

Earlier, Isaac Adewole, minister for health, said the federal government plans to roll out nationwide screening for common types of cancers.

Adewole said the newly-installed machine would reduce the wear and tear of the first machine.

According to him, the old machine has treated over 200 patients and helped to check the medical tourism of patients who travel abroad for cancer treatment.

“I have also encouraged some state government to invest on both radiotherapy and chemotherapy to improve quality of care and survival of cancer patients,” the minister said.

Cancer patients in Nigeria have been dying in numbers due to difficulty in accessing radiotherapy treatment.

Nigeria has less than one radiotherapy machine to one million people compared to one machine to 250,000 people in other climes.

This has forced Nigerians to go to Ghana and other countries for treatment. About 10,000 cancer deaths and 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly.