The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has urged Nigerian women to prioritise early detection of breast cancer as the Federal Government expands measures to improve access to cancer treatment and protect patients from the financial burden of care.
The call comes as Nigeria joins the global community to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, amid continued concerns over the country’s cancer burden and limited access to affordable oncology services.
Recent Nigeria-specific estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory put annual new breast cancer cases at 32,278, with about 16,332 deaths recorded yearly.
Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Nigerian women and a major cause of cancer-related deaths in the country.
NHIA, Roche Cut Cost of Cancer Drugs
Under the leadership of NHIA Director-General, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, the authority has strengthened its focus on financial protection for patients requiring expensive cancer treatment.
A major intervention is the NHIA’s partnership with pharmaceutical company Roche to reduce the cost of selected oncology medicines for eligible insured patients.
Under the arrangement, Roche covers 50 per cent of the cost of selected medicines, while the NHIA contributes 30 per cent and the patient pays the remaining 20 per cent.
The arrangement reduces the direct medicine cost borne by eligible patients by 80 per cent, potentially easing the financial pressure on families undergoing prolonged cancer treatment.
The NHIA has also expanded support for radiotherapy, with assistance ranging from up to N400,000 to full coverage for eligible patients, depending on the applicable benefit package.
Cancer-related diagnostic services covered under relevant insurance packages include mammography, CT and MRI scans, bone scans and laboratory investigations.
The broader benefits also include applicable components of screening, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and follow-up care.
‘Insurance Must Provide Meaningful Protection’
Ohiri said the effectiveness of health insurance should increasingly be measured by the protection it provides when people develop serious illnesses, rather than solely by enrolment numbers.
He said the objective was to ensure that Nigerians with health insurance could access necessary care without being pushed into financial hardship by the cost of treatment.
More than 23 million Nigerians are currently enrolled in the national health insurance system, providing the NHIA with a wider platform for expanding financial protection against cancer and other high-cost diseases.
FG Expands National Cancer Response
The NHIA measures form part of the Federal Government’s broader cancer-control strategy under the Nigeria National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030.
The plan covers prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, alongside patient navigation, survivorship, research, data management and development of the oncology workforce.
The government is also upgrading six Oncology Centres of Excellence across the country.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, centres at the University College Hospital, Ibadan; University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, are already operational, with specialised equipment including brachytherapy machines.
Other interventions include the Cancer Access Partnership programme, which provides 27 anti-cancer medicines in 48 formulations through 14 federal tertiary hospitals.
The government has also established the Cancer Health Fund to support indigent patients receiving treatment for breast, cervical and prostate cancers.
NHIA Calls for Earlier Diagnosis
The authority said the various interventions were intended to address different stages of the cancer-care pathway, from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, treatment and financial protection.
However, it stressed that expanded treatment support must be complemented by greater awareness and earlier diagnosis.
As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities, the NHIA urged women to pay attention to unusual changes in their breasts, seek medical attention promptly and make use of available screening services.
The authority said reducing Nigeria’s breast cancer burden would depend on detecting cases earlier, expanding access to effective treatment and ensuring that the cost of care did not push patients and their families into financial distress.
Late diagnosis, it noted, can result in prolonged and expensive treatment involving surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, specialised medicines and repeated diagnostic investigations, placing significant pressure on household finances.
