Nigeria and 25 other countries in Africa and Asia are to benefit from lifesaving cancer treatments supported by American Cancer Society (ACS) and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).

CHAI in a statement it jointly issued with ACS, yesterday, announced that it had agreements with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Novartis and Mylan to expand access to 20 lifesaving cancer treatments in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

The 25 countries are Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, in Africa; and Vietnam, India, and Myanmar in Asia.

The statement said cancer access partnership is expected to result in a 59 per cent savings on procured cancer medicines.

It stated that the initiative would assist people in the selected countries to save an average of 59 per cent for medicines procured through the agreements.

The statement quoted Mr Isaac Adewole, Co-chair, African Cancer Coalition and former Health Minister in Nigeria, as saying “with the rapidly growing burden of cancer in Africa, it is crucial that we improve and expand access to high-quality, affordable treatment.

“These agreements build on those announced in 2017 that have already delivered substantial savings and increased treatment availability in several countries, including Nigeria.

Sun