No fewer than 26 Nigerian women die daily as a result of cervical cancer, a Radiologist, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, said yesterday in Lagos.
Okoye, also the Founder, Breast Without Spot (BWS) Initiative, an NGO, made the disclosure at the inauguration of a School-Based Cervical Cancer Vaccination Awareness Initiative.
She said cervical cancer was killing more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria put together, according to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report.
“We conducted a survey and discovered that cervical cancer is the second killer cancer among women and Nigeria is also the tenth in cervical cancer death worldwide. Forty-eight million women are at risk, 17,550 women are diagnosed yearly, 9,659 women die annually and 26 women on daily basis in Nigeria.
“This is alarming and most of the cases are rampant in the developing countries like Nigeria. It, therefore, requires a proactive political commitment to fight the scourge,” she said.
Okoye said cervical cancer was 99 per cent preventable and prevention was necessary for the reduction and control of cancer burden in the country. The radiologist then, urged government at all levels to improve and strengthen the healthcare system in terms of funding, infrastructure upgrade and training of medical personnel.
She also urged Nigerians to imbibe regular health check to prevent late detection of cancer cases and cancer mortality.