The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged Nigeria and other African countries to identify, and preserve the knowledge of traditional medicine and deploy it in cancer treatment.
OIC’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs, Science and Technology, Dr Ahmad Sengend, who made the call in Abuja at the third edition of the OIC High-Level Regional Seminar themed, “Innovative Approaches to Cancer and Early Detection” hosted by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, stated need to identify and preserve available indigenous knowledge and plant species available in Africa and to use them in the treatment of cancer.
According to Segwendo, this strategy would help the continent manage the scourge of the disease and lift Africa, which is part of Low-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) mostly affected by the disease.
In his remarks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Walter Mulombo, said Africa must take cancer seriously including other killer diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
Mulombo observed that early detection is crucial to the fight against the scourge, adding that cancer is preventable and 40 per cent of cancer deaths can be averted through early detection.
He said: “The current situation demands deliberate and coordinated action as statistics show that an estimated 13.2 million people will die of the disease by 2030, a rise of 21.4 million. More than half of OIC member states are LMICs, the burden caused by cancer both to the nation, human resource, financial capacity and infrastructure is beyond what is available in the national budgets.” He, however, urged organisations to complement government efforts in fighting cancer.
On his part, the Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, noted that cancer could be prevented or even treated with the right tools.
He, however, said that the agency was not about policies but about giving out the necessary technology, training doctors, oncologists and radiotherapists and providing equipment so that they can provide the needed services to the people.
“This is what we are going to do. Some countries are already requesting assistance and many of them are OIC members,” Grossi said. Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, said that the seminar aims to promote cancer awareness, advocacy and access to affordable cancer treatment. He said it was designed to improve the capacity of technical partners as they support governments and institutions.
He appreciated the African First Ladies of the OIC Member States for championing awareness creation and early detection. Alausa added that the resolutions and statements made by the First Ladies would prompt various governments and international partners to create an enabling environment for overall cancer care in the sub-region. “This will increase advocacy, which will improve funding for cancer care at national and international levels,” he added
A highlight of the event was the Abuja Cancer Declaration of the first ladies of OIC African Member States. They committed to investing more resources in addressing the risk factors associated with cancer and encourage the participation of civil society and communities in fostering partnerships for the dissemination of accurate cancer information.
They also agreed to integrate cancer prevention into primary healthcare systems and promote greater public awareness of the importance of cancer prevention. Present at the event were the first lady of Turkiye, Mrs Emine Erdogan, the first lady of The Gambia, Mrs Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow, the first lady of Sierra Leone, Mrs Fatima Bio and other foreign delegates.