The Kebbi State government has supported 38 indigent cancer patients with the sum of about N8 million to enable them to access cure.
The Commissioner for Health, Jafar Muhammed, said each of the beneficiaries would be supported with the sum of N200,000. He said the aim was to assist them to meet their medical bills since it was expensive to treat the disease.
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According to him, government has also established a Cancer Treatment Centre in Kalgo Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi, to provide easy access to treatment.
The commissioner commended some of the developmental partners, particularly Medicaid, for their support to cancer patients.
“A total of 38 cancer patients have been screened and each gets the sum of N200,000. This brings the total to N7.6 million. The support brings succour to the patients, looking at the high cost of drugs for the treatment of cancer.”
One of the patients who spoke to Caliphate Trust, Hadiza Mohammed, said she lost one of her breasts to the disease, adding that she was diagnosed with the disease a year ago.
She added that six months later, the affected breast was removed and that since then she has been on chemotherapy and has so far spent over N200,000.
Mohammed further added that the support that she has got from the government would go a long way in alleviating the stress she usually goes through whenever she is raising the N40,000 she spends per session of her treatment.
“Prior to this donation, whenever I am going for treatment, I must go round begging relations and well-wishers. I am happy now, this will stop. I can’t afford the money. I spend N40,000 per session of treatment. It is really expensive.”
Idris Abdullahi is another cancer patient who lamented over the high cost of treatment in the country. He said he had spent over N2 million in blood transfusions only in the last two years.
Caliphate Trust reports that the government had in the two years disbursed N10 million to support 62 patients in accessing treatment.
