NHIA Urges Early Detection as FG Steps Up Cancer Response

• NHIA-Roche initiative cuts cost of selected drugs by 80%, expands support for radiotherapy, diagnostics

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has urged Nigerian women to prioritise early detection of breast cancer, while expanding financial protection for insured patients facing the high cost of oncology treatment.

The call comes as the country joins the global community to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with the latest Nigeria-specific estimates putting annual new breast cancer cases at 32,278 and deaths at 16,332, according to the federal government and Nigerian cancer stakeholders from the Global Cancer Observatory.

Breast cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Nigerian women and one of the country’s leading causes of cancer deaths.

The federal government also disclosed in July that Nigeria accounts for about 10.5 per cent of Africa’s cancer burden, placing the country among the three most affected on the continent.

NHIA, under its Director General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, is seeking to strengthen the role of health insurance as a buffer against the financial shock associated with serious illnesses.

For many families, the cost of comprehensive cancer care can quickly exceed household income, while treatment abroad remains beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

A key intervention is the expanded partnership between the NHIA and pharmaceutical company Roche, which is designed to reduce the cost of selected oncology medicines for eligible insured patients.

Under the arrangement, Roche absorbs 50 per cent of the cost of selected medicines, the NHIA contributes another 30 per cent, while the patient pays the remaining 20 per cent.

The cost-sharing structure effectively removes 80 per cent of the medicine cost from the patient’s direct financial burden, potentially making the difference between treatment being sustained and being interrupted for households already under economic pressure.

The authority had also introduced additional support for radiotherapy, ranging from up to N400,000 to full coverage for eligible patients, while maintaining benefits covering key cancer-related diagnostics.

These include mammography, CT and MRI scans, bone scans and laboratory investigations, alongside radiotherapy and other elements of cancer care covered under applicable benefit packages.

The broader package also provides for components of screening, surgery, chemotherapy and follow-up care, depending on the patient’s eligibility and the applicable insurance benefits.

For Ohiri, the interventions point to a shift in how the effectiveness of health insurance should be measured — away from enrolment figures alone and towards the extent to which coverage protects families when they face expensive illnesses.

He said, “The critical measure of the insurance system should no longer be the number of Nigerians carrying insurance records, but whether those records provide meaningful protection when illness strikes.”

Over 23 million Nigerians are currently enrolled in the national health insurance system, giving the NHIA a growing platform for scaling financial protection against cancer and other high-cost diseases.

The NHIA measures form part of the wider health reform agenda of the President Bola Tinubu administration, coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under Professor Muhammad Ali Pate.

Cancer prevention and control have been elevated as national priorities under the administration’s health agenda, with the Federal Government implementing the Nigeria National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030.

The plan covers prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, as well as patient navigation, survivorship, research, data management and expansion of the oncology workforce.

The government is also upgrading six Oncology Centres of Excellence across the country. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, 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 fully operational, with specialised equipment including brachytherapy machines.

Other interventions include the Cancer Access Partnership programme, which provides 27 anti-cancer medicines in 48 formulations across 14 federal tertiary hospitals, as well as the Cancer Health Fund for indigent patients suffering from breast, cervical and prostate cancers.

Together, the measures are aimed at addressing different points along the cancer-care chain — from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, treatment and financial protection.

But the NHIA said the interventions should be viewed as steps towards a broader response rather than a completed solution.

As breast cancer awareness month gets underway, the authority urged women to pay attention to unusual changes in their breasts, seek medical attention promptly and take advantage of screening opportunities where available.

It stressed that reducing Nigeria’s breast cancer burden would ultimately depend on detecting the disease earlier, expanding access to effective treatment and ensuring that the cost of care does not push patients and their families into financial distress.

Beyond the human toll, the disease can impose prolonged financial pressure on households, particularly when diagnosis comes late and treatment requires surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, specialised medicines and repeated diagnostic investigations.