Elekta AB, a Sweden based firm, has pledged to provide radiotherapy cancer treatment in the country.
Habib Nehme, executive vice president, Elekta AB and in charge of Turkey, India, Middle East &Africa (TIMEA) made this know recently when he visited Nigeria recently on a courtesy visit to key government institutions and stakeholders in the health sector.
Nehme during his visit sought to understand the current challenges and requirements for scale-up of radiotherapy services in Nigeria, a statement states.
He reaffirmed Elekta’s commitment at the highest level, to support the sustainable development and scale-up of radiotherapy treatment programs in Nigeria through equipment financing support, clinical skills capacity development programs for radiotherapy multidisciplinary teams to support and advocate for cancer care.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nigeria needs a minimum of about 200 Radiotherapy machines to cater for an estimated population of 200 million Nigerians. Also, according to the IAEA 70% of all cancer patients will need at least one form of Radiotherapy, this situation underscores the urgent need for strategic partnerships with companies like Elekta to make more Linear Accelerators available in-Country.
Also, Clare Omatseye, managing director and CEO of JNC International Ltd – Elekta’s Nigerian representative, reiterated the firm’s commitment as a proudly Nigerian company to provide locally available after-sales and technical support that guarantees machine uptime such that cancer patients are assured of radiotherapy treatment from Elekta Linear Accelerators as and when required.
It will be recalled that late 2018, Elekta in conjunction with their partner, JNC International Ltd, successfully deployed an additional Synergy Linear Accelerator Radiotherapy with modern treatment capabilities comparable to other centers globally to the previously installed Synergy Linear Accelerator owned by The National Hospital, Abuja.
The new additional Synergy Platform was the first installation in Nigeria to have a Volume Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) treatment technique which significantly reduces treatment time and was awarded by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) on behalf of the Shell – Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other partners Joint Venture.
Elekta also invested in an intensive clinical capacity development program working with the hospital management to initiate a hands-on onsite clinical training for the cohort of very passionate and dedicated multidisciplinary team at National Hospital Abuja.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
