The partnership will result in:
- Increased cancer drug access as preferred access agreements have been established with international pharmaceutical companies in order to bolster cancer treatment for Nigerians.
- Capacity building and manpower development as knowledge transfer arrangement have been concluded for: o HDR brachytherapy training program for medical physicists led by experts from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Rayos Contra
Cancer (RCC) o Intensity-modulated radiotherapy training for medical physicists, radiation oncologists, and radiotherapy technicians led by RCC experts.
- Advanced cancer pathology training conducted by experts from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) o Cancer clinical trial management led by experts from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard, University of Oxford, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals o Oncology nursing program taught by experts from Johns Hopkins University, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Enabling increased survival rates.
Abuja, Nigeria
Today, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (“NSIA” or “the Authority”) announces the expanded strategic partnership between the NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center (“the Center”) and BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) to realize NSIA’s vision for reducing the impact of cancer or to bolster cancer treatment for Nigerians. Under the arrangement, the NSIA will benefit from BVGH’s African Access Initiative (AAI) which is suited to enabling both parties to achieve their objective of containing Cancer-related mortality in the country.
This partnership builds further on the solid foundation of programs led by BVGH that is delivering value to the Center and helping to improve treatment for Nigerians. As it stands, cancer is a serious health threat in Nigeria, with 116,000 new cancer cases reported each year and more than 70,000 deaths annually. Beyond the devastating effect on the populace, cancer and its treatment result in the loss of economic resources and opportunities for patients, families, employers, and society overall. NSIA’s healthcare investments focus on cancer with the aim of providing sustainable, high-quality, and affordable treatment for Nigerians to reduce medical tourism. The partnership with BVGH is helping to attain these objectives.
The NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center and BVGH partnership focuses on three core deliverables which are to:
- Establish sustainable access to high quality and affordable cancer medicines and technologies,
- Build clinical and radiation oncology expertise by helping to train and expand the skills of oncologists,
- Forge international partnerships and catalyze clinical research.
NSIA relies on partnerships with organizations that complement and strengthen its investments in healthcare infrastructure to continually improved treatment technics available at the facility. The Authority has embraced BVGH’s support considering the NGO’s flexibility, responsiveness, determination, dependability, and alignment with the Authority’s objectives for its healthcare portfolio and the intended benefit for Nigerians.
Despite the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, our partnership with BVGH is stronger than ever and our resolve to improve cancer patient outcomes is unflinching. This partnership will not only improve access to quality cancer treatment for Nigerian Citizens, but also strengthen our economy as medical tourism is made unnecessary for cancer treatment,” said Mr. Uche Orji, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NSIA.
According to Prof. Chris Bode, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital “We are excited at the partner between NLCC and BVGH. It is expected that the combined effort and commitment of both institutions to deliver the target outcomes in terms of expected quality and scale of care will value to the Nigerian people”.
Commenting on the partnership, Jennifer Dent, President and Chief Executive Officer (BVGH) said “The partnership with the NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre is part of our broader goal of designing and building sustainable access to cancer treatments. Our position remains that advocacy for cancer prevention and domiciliation of quality treatment for patients in Nigeria must be done in parallel and at scale if the longer-term objective of reversing medical tourism and eliminating the scourge of cancer is to be achieved. However, we are confident that the model adopted with the NLCC will go a long way in improving the survival rate in Nigeria”.
“Our partnership with BVGH has quickly and effectively delivered on several NLCC core objectives including expanding access to prioritized medicines and building capacity across our healthcare team. Even though the critical importance of accessing quality cancer care is heightened by the pandemic, BVGH’s partnership is helping NLCC realize its goals in containing the disease burden of cancer. We look forward to continuing our work with BVGH in 2021 and beyond,” stated Dr. Tolulope Adewole, CEO NSIA-LUTH Cancer Center.
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About NSIA
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, a corporate body established by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Establishment, etc.) Act 2011 is mandated to manage funds in excess of budgeted hydrocarbon revenues. Its mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians through building a savings base for the Nigerian people, enhancing the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure, and providing stabilization support in times of economic stress. NSIA operates three mandate funds: the Stabilisation Fund, the Future Generations Fund, and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.
For more information, please visit www.nsia.com.ng
About BVGH
BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) is a nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington working at the crossroads of the private and public sectors to advance research and improve health. BVGH connects people, resources, and ideas across biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, governments, and nonprofits to solve global health issues.
BVGH strategically develops and manages programs across the for-profit and non-profit sectors to accelerate research and development (R&D) for poverty-related diseases; build biomedical R&D capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); and improve cancer patient care in Africa.
For more information, please visit www.bvgh.org
