By Our Reporter
In an effort to achieve a cervical cancer free-Nigeria, stakeholders in the health sector have validated the costed National Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan.
The stakeholders including over 60 participants drawn from the Federal and State Ministries of Health, academia, development partners such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and members of the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination (NTF-CCE), gave their nod on the costed plan at a workshop in Abuja, on Monday.
Speaking at workshop, the Secretary of the NTF-CCE, Prof. Sani Malami, said that the costed plan aligns with the WHO 90–70–90 targets and represents a strategic effort to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat in Nigeria.
While presenting the Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan, Prof. Malami unveils Nigeria’s tremendous achievement of vaccinating over 13 million girls against Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) recently, detailing a comprehensive strategy covering vaccination, screening, treatment, health workforce development and a robust monitoring system.
He highlighted the investment case, noting that every $1 spent could generate up to $26 in societal return – framing the initiative as both a moral and economic imperative.
A Press Release signed by the Co-Chair, Media and Communications of the NTF-CCE, Ayo Osinlu, disclosed that participants at the workshop engaged in thematic breakout sessions to validate cost assumptions for various components of the plan including prevention, diagnostics, and demand generation.
The validated plan is set to advance to finalization—marking a major step toward a cervical cancer-free Nigeria. The National Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan which will be implemented from 2025-2030, had evolved from the National Strategic Plan for Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix 2023-27.
