By Ojoma Akor
The Okapi Children Cancer Foundation (OCCF) has enjoined parents and other caregivers in the country to increase efforts towards early detection of childhood cancers.
The foundation made the call Saturday during its 9th annual cancer awareness walk. This year’s walk was themed “Hope Every Step – Fighting Cancer”.
Kemi Adekanya, founder of the foundation said, there was need for parents to be more intentional about their children.
She said, ” If you notice anything in your child, you need to take it up immediately. Do not ignore the signs and symptoms. For example, if you are treating a child for malaria, January, February, March, and April, it is not normal.
“You need to do referral checks on that child, and once a diagnosis is given, seek treatment. We have seen a lot of situations where some parents actually run away. We have the ‘God forbid’ syndrome in Nigeria. Awareness is key.
“The earlier a cancer is caught, the easier it is to manage. So once you are given a diagnosis, please head to the hospital, proceed with the treatment course, and hopefully you will have good news. We have had some survivors of childhood cancer. It is not a death sentence, which is what we tell parents all the time.
Adekanya also enjoined Nigerians to support children fighting cancer. “They need all the help they can get. A child who has cancer misses out on school and friendships. The whole family also suffers. So as much as we can, let’s come together and support these children and their families. Childhood cancer is not a death sentence. A child should not die because of lack of funds in a country like Nigeria; we all can do the little that we can.
She said the foundation has been supporting children with cancer even without any support from government. While saying that a lot of people were still unaware about childhood cancer, she said there is need for more funding support and subsidized treatments for children with cancer as well.
Dr Oziengbe Okonokhua, head of management, Okapi Children Cancer Foundation said the burden of childhood cancer is huge.
He said every year, about 400,000 children come down with cancer globally adding, “ if you now situate that in a country like Nigeria, where there is low reportage of illnesses, then you can understand that the number is grossly underreported”.
He said people were not even aware that there was pediatric cancer ravaging the community.
He said, ” nobody should wait until the disease progresses to advance stage before they report if they notice signs like a child that is always falling ill, having headache that is consistent even after taking medicines. That is the message we are passing across every year so that we can reduce the incidence of childhood cancer in the country. ”
He called on government to prioritize childhood cancer much more than adult cancer.
President, Nigeria Cancer Society (NCS) Prof. Abidemi Omonisi called for the establishment of more population-based childhood cancer registries in Nigeria.
He also called on the National Assembly to increase budgetary allocation for childhood cancer in the 2026 budget.
One hundred million naira was budgeted to support children with cancer in the 2025 budget as part of the National Cancer Health Fund “NCHF”. Although, this is a good beginning but it is grossly inadequate. I am using this opportunity, to call on the National Assembly to increase the amount in the 2026 to a minimum of one billion naira. The Federal Government and State Government should provide free treatments for children diagnosed with Cancer.
He said it was also important to strengthen data generation on childhood cancer in Nigeria.
He said, ” As of today, we have only one Population Based Childhood Cancer Registry in Nigeria located at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba, Lagos, Lagos State. Unfortunately, this registry is not supported. Science is driven by data but unfortunately, we don’t have an update data on childhood cancer in Nigeria. We need accurate and up- to- date data for an effective cancer control plan for childhood cancer. The Federal Government particularly must strengthen the only population-based childhood cancer in Nigeria, and establish at least one per each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria.
He also highlighted the importance of public–private partnerships in financing treatment and palliative care, stressing that children with cancer require dedicated support for improved access to treatment and survival outcomes.
Abiola Akindele Project Manager , Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, and the planning committee chairman for the 9th Cancer Awareness walk, said the annual walk is geared towards creating awareness and raising funds for children fighting cancer.
She said, “We create awareness about childhood cancer because a lot of people don’t believe that children can have cancer. So that is why we are always out every year to raise awareness, and raise funds. We also go to secondary schools to create awareness and to educate children not to discriminate against children that have cancer in their school.”
