Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has spoken out about the serious threat that cancer poses to women in the country. She said that cervical cancer is a disease that can be prevented, and no woman should lose her life to it.
To help fight this disease, she introduced a new campaign called Partnership to Eliminate Cervical Cancer in Nigeria (PECCIN). The campaign works alongside the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.
According to Mrs. Tinubu, this new program is expected to reduce and eventually stop cervical cancer in women across Nigeria, no matter their age.
She pointed out that cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer among women around the world.
In Nigeria, it is the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer. She described it as a “silent killer” that mostly affects vulnerable women. Despite its danger, she reminded the public that cervical cancer is preventable.
Mrs. Tinubu said she is glad that the new campaign supports President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on Health, which focuses on improving healthcare for Nigerians, especially women.
She confidently said, “Nigeria has shown that it is possible to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.”
She also shared a major achievement from 2024, when Nigeria launched the HPV vaccine nationwide. In just nine months, the vaccine was given to over 12 million girls.
She praised the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and international partners such as Gavi, the Gates Foundation, WHO, and UNICEF for making the vaccination campaign successful.
Mrs. Tinubu also mentioned that her husband’s government is continuing to fund the Cancer Health Fund, which helps reduce the cost of cancer treatments for Nigerians.
She expressed hope that with continued support from the government, help from global partners, and the hard work of health workers, Nigeria can reach the WHO’s 90-70-90 target. This would make cervical cancer a rare disease in the country.
She explained that the new partnership will focus on raising awareness, mobilizing resources, and giving women better access to screening and treatment services for cervical cancer.
