The recent alarm on rising global incidence of cancer by the World Health Organisation (WHO) should worry African countries, including Nigeria, where the disease is most prevalent.
Available statistics show that cancer killed 7.6 million persons in 2008 worldwide, and there is indication that the figure could double to 13 million by 2030.
According to WHO, cancer accounts for 13 percent of all deaths registered globally and 70 percent of that figure occurs in middle and low income countries.
In Nigeria, about 10,000 cancer deaths are recorded annually while 250,000 new cases are recorded yearly. It is also worrisome that only 17 percent of African countries are said to have sufficiently funded cancer control programmes, while less than half of all countries in the world have functional plans to prevent the disease and provide treatment and care to
