Nigeria’s health minister, Prof Isaac Adewole has stressed the importance of having two radiotherapy machines at the National Hospital Abuja. He made the comment while inspecting the second radiotherapy machine for cancer treatment at the National Hospital Abuja.
Read more: National Hospital Abuja gets second radiotherapy machine
Earlier this week, HealthNews.NG reported that the hospital now has a second radiotherapy machine valued at over US$1 million which was donated by Shell Petroleum company.
This was coming barely two weeks after HealthNews.NG also exclusively reported that the delivery of a second radiotherapy machine to the National Hospital Abuja had been delayed. Installation of the new machine has finally gotten underway. The machine was reportedly supplied by JNC International Ltd.
With this development, the Abuja Radiotherapy centre would be running two Linear accelerators at the same time.
“The beauty of having two Machines is that if one pack up, the second one will be in use for the benefit of cancer patients,” the minister said.
He added that the cancer treatment machine would contribute immensely to the fight against cancer. He enjoined other multinational organisations, individuals and groups to undertake such gesture “as part of their social responsibility to the citizenry.”
He further reiterated Federal Government’s commitment towards reducing the effect of cancer in Nigeria which is being demonstrated by the ongoing phased installation of one cancer treatment machine in each of the six geopolitical zones plus two in Abuja.
In his remark, the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital Abuja, Dr. Jeff Momoh noted that the second machine would greatly assist in the provision of standard cancer treatment to patients in Nigeria and other African countries thereby reducing cancer burden in the entire continent.
The representative of Shell Petroleum Development Company, Dr. Akinwumi Fajola, said the donation of the Cancer Treatment Machine was one of the company’s ways of giving back to the Society in which it operates.
