The National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) has commenced phase two of its national program aimed at integrating basic cancer screening services into primary healthcare facilities across Kwara State.

The Director-General of NICRAT, Prof. Usman Aliyu, made this known on Tuesday in Ilorin during a two-day capacity-building workshop organized for healthcare workers on free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA cervical cancer screening.

Represented by NICRAT's Senior Scientific and Partnership Liaison Officer, Mrs Deloraine Dennis, Prof. Aliyu explained that the initiative seeks to embed preventive care for screenable cancers including breast, cervical, skin, and liver cancers into routine family planning services, with the current phase focusing specifically on cervical cancer.

"We aim to create awareness amongst clients at the family planning clinic and ensure that these clients can then proceed to get screened for cervical cancer," Aliyu stated.

He disclosed that the institute projects screening 200 clients per state during the initial pilot phase currently underway across six participating states, including Kwara, with plans to establish routine screening nationwide across all primary health centers.

Following a pre-assessment of three primary healthcare centers in Kwara, NICRAT selected Okelele Primary Healthcare Centre in Ilorin to flag off the pilot implementation.

Highlighting the nation's rising oncology burden, the Director-General cited recent 2024 Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) figures showing that Nigeria registers over 150,000 new cancer cases annually, with a mortality rate exceeding 50 percent.

Also speaking at the event, the State Family Planning Coordinator at the Kwara State Ministry of Health, Hajia Bashirat Jatto, commended NICRAT for partnering with the state, noting that the collaboration marks the first formal integration of cervical cancer screening into family planning services across public health facilities in Kwara.

A consultant with NICRAT, Dr Mustapha Yahaya, explained that trained healthcare providers will handle sample collection at family planning clinics. He added that women who test negative will be counseled to re-screen after 10 years, while positive cases will receive full medical linkage and treatment support from NICRAT.

Echoing similar concerns, Kwara Team Gynecologist for NICRAT, Dr Jibril Abdullahi, described cervical cancer as a preventable disease despite its high mortality footprint.

"In Nigeria, we have over 10,000 cases annually and more than 7,000 deaths annually from cervical cancer," Dr Abdullahi stated, adding that over 70 percent of cases are linked to persistent HPV infections.

He emphasized that the Kwara intervention aligns with Nigeria's National Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy, which aims to meet global 90-70-90 targets by 2030 through widespread HPV vaccination, screening 70 percent of women aged 35 and above, and treating 90 percent of precancerous conditions.