St. Jude Global Alliance has strengthened its commitment to Nigeria through expanded partnerships and capacity-building initiatives with the Lagos University Teaching hospital (LUTH) and The Dorcas Cancer Foundation (TDCF).
This is as the body renews push to bridge the widening survival gap in childhood cancer between high-income and low-income nations,
With a mission that “no child should die at the dawn of life”, St Jude supports a global alliance to combat childhood cancer through research, education, innovation, evidence-based strategies and clinical partnerships.
Representatives from the St. Jude Global Alliance visited Nigeria for a high-level working visit, following its recent admission of TDCF as the first Nigerian non-profit organisation to join this global network of over 400 institutions across more than 80 countries.
Nickhill Bhakta, director for sub-Saharan Africa and Pediatric Oncologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital engaged directly with key stakeholders in Lagos to support accelerating pediatric oncology transformation in Nigeria.
He said the focus is on how to further empower the team at LUTH and their foundation partners to ensure more children across Nigeria have access to quality treatment.
Bhakta said currently, childhood cancer survival rates in Nigeria hover below 20 percent, a stark contrast to over 80 percent in countries like the United States.
He described this as “one of the greatest health-related disparities in modern medicine,” stating that St. Jude is determined to help close this gap.
He said the initiative targets a global survival rate of 60 percent for childhood cancer by 2030.
Adedayo Joseph, executive director of The Dorcas Cancer Foundation and Nigeria’s first pediatric radiation oncologist, said the visit highlights the importance of collaborative action to address the unique challenges and opportunities facing countries all over the world and in Africa in delivering childhood cancer care.
Joseph, who also serves as the director of Clinical Research and Head of Pediatric Radiation Oncology, Medserve–LUTH Cancer Centre, said for the first time in Nigeria and West Africa, young people with brain tumors, kidney tumors and even leukemias have access to and modern radiotherapy with techniques such as intensity modulated (IMRT) and Volumetric Arc Radiation known as VMAT at LUTH.
She explained that the team at LUTH is currently undergoing an intense training programme with the St. Jude Children Research Hospital, which is one of the many opportunities this alliance opens up for Nigerian providers and their patients.
She also noted that other such opportunities and partnerships will see the Medical Social Work department work with the patient navigation programme of TDCF to ensure seamless care in addition to potential partnership of the hospital oncology nursing programme to expand pediatric oncology nursing training and practice in the country.
Also speaking, Edamisan Temiye, consultant pediatric oncologist, LUTH, said the collaboration between Nigeria and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States is driving significant progress in the treatment of childhood cancer in Nigeria.
Temiye detailed how exposure to advanced cancer treatment models during his visit to St. Jude in Memphis inspired innovations now being implemented in Nigeria.
He noted that one of the most significant achievements of this partnership has been the dramatic improvement in childhood leukemia survival rates in Nigeria as about 40-50 per cent of leukemia cases survive, compared to almost zero back then.
However, he emphasised that critical challenges remain, particularly in the area of molecular diagnosis, noting that currently, samples are shipped to South Africa, where the volume of tests from Nigeria has begun to overwhelm partner labs.
He said to address this gap, LUTH has acquired critical equipment such as a flow cytometer and fluorescent microscope.
Korede Akindele, the chief operating officer of TDCF,
said this visit is a crucial opportunity to drive collective national progress and continue to strengthen shared goals, such as improving survival rates and quality of care for every Nigerian child facing cancer.
Akindele said St Jude’s presence reflects the deepening of a global-local alliance dedicated to saving lives and building resilient pediatric cancer health systems in Nigeria.
“It is an opportunity to expand our reach, deepen our impact, and meaningfully contribute to a global mission of equity in pediatric cancer care. We are humbled to work with the St. Jude Global Alliance in this effort to ensure that no child in Nigeria is left behind,” Akindele added.
