Medical experts and health advocates urge the Nigerian government to prioritise brain tumour care through policy, funding, and education, marking World Brain Tumour Day 2025

Brain tumour care in Nigeria must be prioritised through national policy, sustained funding, and public awareness, medical experts and health advocates said on Tuesday in Abuja during an event to mark World Brain Tumour Day 2025.

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Speaking at a press conference organised by the Brain and Spine Foundation Africa in partnership with the National Hospital, stakeholders emphasised the urgent need for Nigeria to treat brain health as a core public health issue.

Dr Mansur Idris, Head of Consultant Neurosurgery at the National Hospital, highlighted that brain tumours constitute up to 25 per cent of neurosurgical cases nationwide. Represented by Dr Uthman Uthman, he noted that misdiagnosis and cultural misconceptions often delay treatment.

“Seizures or behavioural changes are often mistaken for spiritual attacks. Some cases are only discovered incidentally during unrelated scans,” he explained in his keynote address titled “Hope amid Tumour: Advances in Care and Survivorship.”

While acknowledging advancements such as the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja, Idris warned that access to diagnostic tools like Tesla MRI and PET scans remains a luxury for most Nigerians.

He urged the government to provide financial support and include brain tumours in cancer care financing models.

Treatment, he said, involves a multidisciplinary team and often lifelong follow-up, which many families cannot afford without subsidies or insurance.

Echoing this, Ms Chika Okwuolisa, Executive Director of Brain and Spine Foundation Africa, described the condition as a “silent national crisis.”

“Brain health has long been relegated to the background. It is time to bring it to the centre of health discourse in Nigeria.

Without information, patients are disempowered, and caregivers are helpless,” Okwuolisa said, recounting her own family’s financial struggle to fund her sibling’s brain tumour treatment.

Retired General Maurice Ezeoke, former President of the International College of Surgeons, and Mrs Ekeinyi Adedayo, a senior oncology nurse, also emphasised the cost and survival risks involved. They called for brain tumour care to be included in Nigeria’s national health insurance coverage.

“Regular check-ups and early medical attention can make all the difference. Brain health must be prioritised,” Adedayo stressed.

Survivor testimonies underscored the financial toll of treatment. Ms Stephanie Acka, whose sister was diagnosed in 2021, revealed that her family had to raise over ₦10 million for surgery in India, with ongoing monthly drug expenses reaching ₦1.2 million.

“I have had to beg just to keep my sister alive. We need government support to reduce this suffering,” she said.

World Brain Tumour Day, observed globally every 8 June, serves as a reminder of the critical need to address one of the most under-recognised but devastating health challenges.

The 2025 theme, ‘Fighting Brain Cancer Together’, calls for collective efforts in brain care equity, research and survivorship.

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Advocates say a national brain health policy could be the first step toward saving thousands of Nigerian lives each year.