Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu: Universal Health Coverage was high on the agenda at this years at UNGA.

Quoting Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu on LinkedIn:

“Universal Health Coverage was high on the agenda at this year at UNGA. A day after the United Nations HLM, I joined a roundtable discussion on improving Breast Cancer Services in Africa, via a multi-sectoral approach.

It was hosted by Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), a US-based organisation founded by former US President Dwight Eisenhower. BICU creates result-focused opportunities for the Government, multilateral institutions, and stakeholders; to learn from one another and work towards a common goal. In this case, the goal was Breast Cancer and facilitating institutions were Roche Africa and the World Health Organization. 

Against the background of my experience of leading a cancer foundation for the past 16 years and of late, First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), I was invited to contribute. Roche has been our long-standing partner at The Medicaid Cancer Foundation, FLAC, and Kebbi state government. Both vehicles have demonstrated that public-private partnership is indeed an effective health financing strategy that strengthens quality and timely care for breast cancer and will undoubtedly accelerate the process of Universal Health Coverage in Africa.

Our PACE (patient access to chemotherapy) program at The Medicaid Cancer Foundation, provides low-cost access to over 12 oncology medicines, including Herceptin (a Roche product used in the treatment of Breast Cancer). In the program’s 4 years of existence, 72 patients have accessed Herceptin at a much lower cost. Similarly, since inception, The Medicaid Cancer Foundation has screened over 1 million women for breast cancer (using digital, laboratory and radiological means).

Worthy of note also are the breast care and screening rooms donated by Roche to FLAC member states known as BETA clinics. Yet another example of partnering with Roche to improve human capacity for cancer care is a recent training held for FLAC program officers with emphasis and breast cancer screening and the introduction of HPV vaccine in Nigeria. Indeed, our Nigerian team led by Dr. Ladi Hameed have been strong, organized and dependable allies.

At the roundtable, an announcement was made of a unique collaboration between the governments of Cote’Ivoire, Zimbabwe and Kenya, Roche and WHO. The initiative in the three countries includes health promotion, screening, early diagnosis and treatment, as well as general primary care and screening for other noncommunicable diseases. The aim is to provide an integrated and holistic system of health care that will contribute to addressing the burden of breast and cervical cancer in the African region.

Congratulations and well done Maturin Tchoumi, Prebo Barango Bente, Mikkelsen Cynthia, Liliane Kamikazi, Sophie Bussmann-Kemdjo, Ophira Ginsburg, Michel Sidibe, Meghan Hagberg, Reid Harrison, Roche Africa, Doris Duke, Dianne Eyisi, and Chukwudi Ehibudu.

Together, we can eradicate cancer…..”

Source: Zainab Shinkafi-Bagud/LinkedIn.

Her Excellency Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu is the First Lady of Kebbi State, a global cancer advocate, a pediatrician, a UICC Board Member, a Founder of the Medicaid Cancer Foundation, and the Chairperson of First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), a coalition of the spouses of current and former state governors in Nigeria who are working to address gaps in the cancer continuum of care. In her role as the First Lady of Kebbi State, Dr Bagudu is working with the state ministries of health, education, and women affairs to implement programs to sustainably improve menstrual hygiene, girl-child education, economic empowerment of women, and put an end to gender-based violence. Her Excellency is a member of the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.