Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday emphasised the need for increased commitment by the Federal and State Governments for the prevention and eradication of cervical cancer in Nigeria.
Obasanjo spoke in Abeokuta when he received ambassadors of the Cervical Cancer-Free Nigeria (CCFN), a grassroots campaign initiative launched in 2019 for the elimination of cervical cancer in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CCFN, which is co-led by the Global Oncology, a U.S. based non-profit organisation, aims at generating demand for and supply of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of the disease.
Obasanjo, who was recently appointed Presidential Ambassador of the CCFN, called on government at all levels to develop deliberate policies for the prevention of the disease in Nigeria.
The elder statesman counselled that Nigeria should not neglect other health priorities while combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
He insisted that if Nigeria could successfully wage war against smallpox and polio, she could eliminate cervical cancer.
“What we need is a real commitment on the part of our various governments in the same way they were committed to the eradication of smallpox, polio and COVID-19,” he said.
Obasanjo, who stated that he only recently learnt that the the HPV vaccine had been available since 2005, pledged that he would begin to spread the news among Nigerians.
“As ambassadors of CCFN, we need to step up the campaign and advocacy for the availability of the HPV vaccine and the need for our young girls and women to be vaccinated.
“This is so because, if our women die of cervical cancer unaware of the existence and availability of the vaccine, that means, they die of ignorance.
“But if they are aware of it and they still die of the disease, that means they die of neglect.
“This is why we need to ensure that the HPV vaccine is not only available, it must also be accessible and affordable,” he said.
Sen. Lanre Tejuoso, leader of the delegation, in his earlier remarks, stressed the need for Nigerian young girls to be vaccinated before the age of 15 as part of efforts to eliminate the disease in Nigeria.
According to Tejuoso, a medical doctor by profession, about 8,000 women die yearly of cervical cancer worldwide.
He explained that the HPV vaccine had been tested and discovered effective and safe for the treatment of the disease.
Tejuoso noted that the vaccine could be made accessible and affordable just as the COVID-19 vaccine with funding and other forms of assistance from the government and other stakeholders.
The Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, in his remarks, described cervical cancer as more deadly than COVID-19.
Abayomi, who noted that the virus had multiple variants, called for increased medical research in Nigeria to identify and develop vaccines in line with the strain peculiar to Nigeria.
His Ogun counterpart, Dr Tomi Coker, called for structured approach for the prevention of the disease
and pledged her support for the campaign.
Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the President of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, noted that Nigeria needed to be bold and decisive in ensuring the demand for and supply of the HPV vaccine for the elimination of the disease in the country.
Ogunbanjo, who called for huge investment in the HPV vaccine by the Nigerian government, noted that the investment would more than pay for itself.
He, therefore, called for partnership from all sectors in the area of funding for the elimination of the disease.
