As First Ladies Against Cancer FLAC Doles Over IM To Cancer Patients At UATH Gwagwalada.
The Chief Medical Director, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital UATH Gwagwalada, Professor Bissala Ekele has described the management of cancer patients had been a herculean task both to the carriers and managers.
He therefore calls for more supports from both government and the international communities, NGO’s to mitigate the high costs of treatment for cancer patients.
Professor Bissala gave this submission while receiving the Nigeria’s Governors Wives forum under the aegis of the First Ladies Against Cancer FLAC led by its current chairperson, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, wife of Kebbi State Governor and founder Medicaid, along with Erelu Bisi Fayemi, wife of Ekiti state Governor, who doubled as chairperson Nigerian Governor’s wives forum.
He commended the Governor’s wives on their routine visits, passion, donations, advocacy to the hospital,and donations to indigent patients of cancer and malaria for their supports and treatment, saying the visit of six of the governor’s wives in a swoop was a memorable one.
Professor Ekele says the hospital with over 500 bed space is operating at it’s full capacity, saying the governor’s wives by their influence can take advantage to step up their interventions locally, internationally at their will.
Ekele stated that the location of the hospital’s advantage and it’s high demands from the public had weighed down it’s carrying capacity, and therefore will require more supports nationally and internationally in that regard.
The Chief Medical Director maintained that the supports it had enjoyed in the last three years both from government at all levels, it’s agencies and the private sector, if sustained will affect the ongoing remodeling of the tertiary health institution positively.
He advised on the early detection, testing and treatment of cancer, as panacea to the debilitating effects of the ailement, saying the zeal of the governor’s wives forum through FLAC was an encouragement to the major health stakeholders in Nigeria.
Earlier, the chairperson and wife of the Kebbi State Governor, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu says FLAC was a think tank convened by both former and serving governor’s wives, saying the anxiety of it’s abrupt winding down of it’s program is not tenable, as the first timers among the current governor’s wives will continue from were the current second timers will cease by 2023 .
She said FLAC had intervened through the assessment of the 2021 Health Cancer Fund HFC from the federal government to the tune of 700M in 2020, stating that, that of 2021 will soon be released to ameliorate the high cost of treatment of cancer patients in the country.
Aside attracting government attention both at the local, state and federal level, the body was determined to continue to attract such supports both from local and international NGO’s as well as multinationals operating in Nigeria.
Also speaking at the occasion, the chairperson Nigerian Governor’s wives forum, Erelu Bisi Fayemi expressed the committement of the bodies to continue in it’s zeal to extend succour to the needy in the society, particularly on the treatment of cancer patients.
She announced that among many other programs of FLAC was aggressive campaigns against Gender Based Violence GBV in the society, and the dreaded drug abuses among our people, that had rendered the entire societies vulnerable and exposed to all forms of criminal activities.
The program attracted six governor’s wives including the chairperson of FLAC, Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, Erelu Bisi Fayemi of Ekiti state, wives of Governor’s of Kwara, Benue, Ogun, and Adamawa States attended the occasion.
Highlights of the occasion included visits to the oncology ward were cancer patients were on admission and donation of 1M to ten patients in the ward.
The Governor’s wives also visited the female surgical ward and donated unspecified amounts of money to the sick persons in the ward.