The Minister of State for Health & Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako has given assurances that the Federal Government was adopting a more proactive approach to implementing health education and prevention strategies aimed at eradicating the heavy burden of non-communicable diseases, high mortality rate and mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Salako who spoke while receiving a delegation of Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) led by its Executive Vice President, Infectious Diseases, Dr David Ripin in Abuja, noted that a practical assurance to this approach was ensuring that the budget of the Ministry for the year 2025 would feature programmes on cancer prevention at all levels.
He said: “This year in our budget, we are focusing a lot of attention on cancer. And a lot of that funding will be around cancer prevention, both at primary prevention and secondary prevention levels, with screening, population prevention, and so on and so forth.”
Dr. Salako highlighted the priority attention of the Government to address and, reduce high mortality rates to the lowest, stressing, a programme known as the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative has been launched by the Ministry.
The Ministry, he pointed out, would address challenges around providing maternal care, particularly in high-burden local governments for maternal mortalities. Introducing minimal technology into maternal care plus ultrasound, he further stated, would drive more women to come for antenatal care.
Dr. Salako expressed deep appreciation of the existing partnership between the Ministry and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), saying, it would bring more positive impact and results to the average Nigerian.
Country Director of CHAI, Dr. Olufunke Fasawe enumerated the contributions of the organization towards improving access to healthcare delivery in the country.
These, according to her, include collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare on a 50% reduction in the prices of some chemotherapies and, supporting about 20 plus centres across the country. This is to ensure that patients have access to these prices of chemotherapy.
On cervical cancer elimination; Dr Fasawe pointed out that CHAI has moved cervical screening from outreaches, NGOs and, charitable events; to actually integrating it into the normal routine services such that any woman 25 years and above can routinely get screened for cervical cancer.
Furthermore, she stated over 57,000 women have received HPV screening, saying, CHAI was able to get a significant price reduction of HPV test kits from about $20 to now $7 to achieve the high number of screened women.
