Bridget T Ikyado
Abuja – The Albino Foundation on Thursday acknowledged the support of government in the treatment of Persons with Albino suffering from cancer in Nigeria .
President and Founder of the foundation Mr Jake Epelle during a news conference in Abuja said that contrary to reports making rounds, the government had intervened in helping PWAs.
Epelle, who expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for being responsible for the treatment of the skin cancer, said
many members of TAF had benefitted.
He added that “in Africa, only Nigeria has free skin cancer treatment scheme. We will like to again register our gratitude to
government for recommending PWAs who were in need of treatment.”
The TAF founder said that the foundation had attracted free cancer treatment to members with government’s direct sponsorship, in line with its advocacy activities.
He added that TAF had mobilised for the treatment of PWAs within and outside the country worth millions of dollars.
He said that even though he had no accurate number of persons so far treated or referred to hospitals as a result of loss of some
documents in course of movements from one office to another, “this is verifiable by the beneficiaries”.
Epelle described as fallacious the claim that government had not in any way sponsored the treatment of PWAs for skin cancer.
He, however, added that there was discontinuation of treatment as a result of high cost of drugs.
He commended the Ekiti Government “for showing care and concern in the affairs and health condition of PWAs.”
Ms Nonye Ogbuagu, the Assistant Coordinator of the foundation in Enugu, also affirmed government’s involvement in the
treatment of PWAs with skin cancer.
Ogbuagu explained that the foundation had referred many persons to the National Hospital, Abuja, for skin cancer treatment under
the auspices of government.
Bassey Mbah, the Coordinator of the group in Cross River, emphasised the imperatives of early and timely treatment of skin cancer
in PWAs to avoid high mortality rate.
Mbah urged TAF members to use the opportunity offered to treat skin cancer by visiting facilities on time.
The term albinism typically refers to oculocutaneous, a genetic disorder that results
to decreased production of a pigment called melanin in the skin, hair and eyes, resulting in light colour or no colour.
Melanin is the pigment that gives the skin, eyes and hair their colouring.
