The Federal Government has welcomed the unveiling of the “Lancet Oncology Commission on Cancer Workforce: A Global Crisis”, describing it as a timely call to strengthen cancer care systems globally.
Dr Uche Nwokwu, National Coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP), said this in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja following the report’s unveiling at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.
Nwokwu said the report highlighted an urgent global shortage of cancer care workers and projected a shortfall of 100 million cancer workforce personnel by 2050 amid rising cancer incidences worldwide.
He said the findings reflected existing challenges across Nigeria and many African countries, including late presentation of cancer cases, diagnostic delays, overstretched oncology teams and limited specialist capacity.
According to him, Nigeria’s National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030 has already outlined strategies to address the oncology workforce gap, providing a framework that could serve as a model for other countries.
Nwokwu said the report reinforced the need for countries to move beyond planning and implement measurable actions to strengthen cancer workforce capacity and improve patient outcomes.
He quoted Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, Chief Executive Officer of Medicaid Cancer Foundation and President-Elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, as welcoming the commission’s inauguration.
“The inauguration of this commission is both timely and necessary. Around the world, and especially across low- and middle-income countries, the cancer workforce is central to whether patients are diagnosed early, treated effectively, and supported with dignity throughout their care.
“For Nigeria and Africa, this report strengthens the case for deliberate investment in people, not only infrastructure. We must build, retain, and support the multidisciplinary teams needed to deliver equitable cancer care.”
Shinkafi-Bagudu said such investments were required across the continuum of prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship and palliative care to improve access to quality cancer services.
The statement also quoted Prof. Folakemi Odedina, Chair of the NCCP Technical Working Group, as describing the report’s inauguration as critical for Nigeria’s cancer control efforts.
“The inauguration of this commission comes at a critical time for Nigeria. Through the NCCP-TWG, we are taking important steps to address the cancer workforce gap by strengthening planning, coordination, training priorities, and implementation pathways.
“Bridging this shortage will require sustained commitment from government, professional bodies, training institutions, development partners, and the wider health system,” Odedina said.
She added that the commission reinforced the urgency of ongoing efforts and supported Nigeria’s direction toward building a more resilient and equitable cancer workforce.
Nwokwu further quoted Dr Nwamaka Lasebikan of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, and co-author of the commission, on the implications of the findings for Africa.
“For Nigeria and many African countries, this commission is not an abstract global warning. It reflects the reality we see every day: rising cancer burden, late presentation, limited diagnostic and treatment capacity, and a workforce stretched far beyond what is sustainable.
“If we want better cancer outcomes, we must move beyond isolated services and invest deliberately in cancer workforce planning, training, retention, task-sharing, digital tools, and strong cancer systems.
“The cancer workforce is not a support structure for cancer care; it is the foundation on which timely, equitable, and high-quality cancer care depends,” Lasebikan said.
According to the statement, the commission calls for coordinated action to strengthen cancer workforce registries, expand oncology training programmes and improve retention across health systems.
It said investments were also needed for nurses, diagnostics teams, radiotherapy professionals, pathologists, imaging specialists, palliative care providers, data teams and community-level health workers.
The report further highlighted the importance of digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, task-sharing approaches and sustainable financing mechanisms in improving access and continuity of cancer care.
Nwokwu said the commission underscored that cancer control could not succeed through infrastructure investments alone but required strong systems, financing, governance, data and human resources.
He said the inauguration of the report served as a call to action for the global cancer community and a call to implementation for Nigeria as it advanced its cancer control agenda.
