NSIA moves to boost cancer treatment in Nigeria, holds summit in Lagos

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority has organiseda maiden edition of NSIA’s Oncology Summit in Lagos aimed at improving treatment of cancer in the country.

The event, which attracted oncology stakeholders and strategic partners, according to a statement from NSIA on Wednesday, is to drive collaborations amongst partners and improve overall patient outcomes in cancer-care.

Participants at Summit included over 200 medical professionals in oncology, over 11 Nigerian tertiary hospitals as well as over 10 external collaborators from the University of Chicago; American Oncology Institute India; American Society of Clinical Oncology (‘ASCO’); Bio Ventures for Global Health (‘BVGH’); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre; American Association of Physicists in Medicine (‘AAPM’) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre (‘UPMC’).

At the Summit, medical professionals split into focus groups across various specialty areas to discuss barriers to oncology care in Nigeria, possible solutions to address same and retention plans for homegrown talent.

Speaking at the Oncology Summit, the Managing Director, Aminu Umar – Sadiq noted that “this is an important first step in bringing together key oncology stakeholders to enhance the quality of cancer care in Nigeria.”

Healthcare has been an investment sector of focus for the Authority.

The NSIA set up the NSIA Healthcare Development Investment Company (‘NHDIC’) to address medical infrastructure gaps, develop strategic collaborations to improve patient care and enhance the talent pool of medical professionals.

In 2019, NSIA established the NSIA – LUTH Cancer Centre (‘NLCC’) – a world-class out-patient oncology centre which has since attended to over 10,000 unique cancer patients.

The statement said the Authority also invested in two diagnostic projects co-located within the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia.

The NSIA is now in the process of scaling these interventions, with 3 additional Oncology centres, 23 additional diagnostic centres and 7 catheterization laboratories across the six geopolitical zones