‘Cancer Research And Treatment Must Be Domesticated’

A researcher at the University of Florida, United State of America, Prof. Folakemi Odedina, declared in Abuja yesterday that cancer research and treatment in Nigeria must be Nigeria-focused.
“No pharmaceutical company should sell any drug in Nigeria without conducting clinical trials with Nigerians. This is the golden standard,” Odedina said.
She was delivering a keynote address at the launch of Nigeria’s version of the 2020 International Cancer Week hosted by the Federal Ministry of Health,
“No more publishing data from Nigeria and not having Nigerian scientists as key authors. Development of research infrastructure and capacity within Nigeria should be compulsory.
“In Nigeria, we are being treated based on therapies from other populations. This is not supposed to be,’’ she said.
Odedina noted that Nigeria currently has more than 3 million dollars research projects on-going in the country and stressed that: “We cannot do cancer prevention without research. No more “Helicopter” research in Nigeria.’’
She said while it was important for Nigerian researchers to collaborate with their foreign counterparts, the thrust must be led by Nigerians.
In her own address, Prof. Ifeoma Okoye, Professor of Radiology at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka called for concerted efforts to champion cancer awareness and advocacy in the country.
She said concerted efforts were needed as Nigeria needed to address the debilitating disease squarely and rely more on its own research and demographics rather than copying what obtained in other parts of the world.
“We need to carry out research within our populations,” she stressed.
Also, Dr Zainab Bagudu, Chief Executive Officer, Medicaid Cancer Foundation said one main take-away from the COVID-19 pandemic was the wake-up call on the need for improved healthcare infrastructure.