It was in July 2021 that the administration of Nyesom Wike in Rivers State embarked on one of the most prodigious projects in the health sector aimed at providing succour to the people of the state and Nigerians in general, over rising cases of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which were taking a toll on the population.
The project, a Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, named after Dr. Peter Odili, a former governor of Rivers State, was awarded to Julius Berger Plc with a timeline to deliver in July 2022. And the company did deliver. Or so it seemed.
With a tidy budget of N29.5 billion, the firm built a 72-bed facility on a gross building area of 11,300 square metres, along Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt. The facility has a dedicated ICU/CCU patient accommodation ward, critical areas for immune compromised patients, and private isolation wards. It also has three theatre, a Catheterisation laboratory, a radiotherapy unit, a Brachytherapy unit, and a nuclear medicine unit. It further boasts of doctors’ quarters, helipad, modern incinerators, 1000 and 800 KVA generators to power the centre.
The need to have a centre of such magnitude and importance was as. A result of research which placed the people of the Niger Delta at increasingly great risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular diseases which were predicted to reach epidemic proportions because of the environmental pollution caused by unsustainable oil exploration practices in the region.
The Cancer centre was built with the aim of giving Rivers State and her people the best as it was the first of its kind in the Niger Delta and the only one among the three in Nigeria built by a state government. It was expected that with the establishment of the centre, Rivers State would attract international medical tourism because of the world class standard of the centre, reduce suffering, reduce morbidity rate and reduce the need for seeking treatment abroad. It is obvious that there is a sustained increase in the number of deaths from cancer-related illness and cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular disease, also called heart disease, is the most common cause of death worldwide. Cardiovascular disease is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. It is usually associated with a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries(atherosclerosis) and an increased risk of blood clots. It can also be associated with damage to arteries in organs such as the brain heart, kidneys, and eyes.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) profile of Nigeria highlights that non-communicable diseases (NCD) accounted for 29% of all deaths, with cardiovascular diseases responsible for 11% of the NCD deaths.
Another WHO referenced report estimates that one in four Nigerians is at risk of developing coronary heart disease, while around 31% of Nigerian adults are hypertensive with awareness and control rates at just 29%, 12% and 2.8% respectively.
Records from the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital show that from 2021 to 2022, cardiovascular diseases accounted for 48.8% of all medical admissions (751 out of 1540). The common diagnoses were stroke(41.1%), heart failure (33.4%), hypertensive crisis(21.7%), with in-hospital cardiovascular deaths representing about 19.4% of cardiovascular admissions.
Similar records from Lagos and Abia states show a rise in the percentage of persons afflicted with cardiovascular diseases. A 16-year review(2002-2017) in Lagos Teaching Hospital showed that out of 21,369 medical admissions, 4,456(20.8%) were due to cardiovascular diseases. Also, among 3,582 recorded deaths, 1,090(30.4%) were cardiovascular related, which is an indication of high mortality burden. The situation is not different from cancer related ailments and deaths recorded across Nigeria.
In 2022, approximately 127,763 cases of cancer were reported, comprising 48,096 males and 79,669 females. Of this number, 79,542 deaths were recorded, comprising 32,905 males and 46,637 females. In 2023, 127,009 new cancer cases were diagnosed with 79,000 deaths.
In 2025, according to the Global Cancer Observatory, over 32,000 new breast cancer cases are expected in Nigeria. While it is projected that cancer cases will rise from around 130,000 cases in 2022 to 300,000 by 2050, owing to demographic shifts and limited screening and treatment infrastructure.
It is in the light of the staggering statistics of affliction and deaths associated with cancer and cardiovascular diseases that has made it imperative that the Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Centre, which has remained locked since after its commissioning be opened to the public.
The people of Rivers State and indeed concerned Nigerians are at a loss why the centre which costs so much money to build and which intent was to save lives will be allowed to remain in the condition it is presently.
Upon its commissioning in 2022, former governor Nyesom Wike had informed that there was a partnership arrangement based on the strength of the understanding brokered with the former United States Consul General in Nigeria Will Stevens.
Wike further informed then that Steven’s visited the hospital and made contacts with people who had expertise on how best to run hospitals profitably, to take over the operations of the center.
Indeed, according to reports, some investors approached the Rivers State Government to manage the hospital, which was granted. However, not much was put in place by the managers to achieve the lofty heights envisioned in setting up the health facility.
By December 2023, the timeline of the private investors/partners of the state government in managing the facility had lapsed and it was revealed that the foreign experts had no plans of continuing owning to issues about foreign exchange and the economy of the country.
This period coincided with the height of the political turmoil in Rivers State, which unsettled the new administration in the State led by Siminalayi Fubara. Thus, a critical portion of the health sector with an investment of nearly 30 billion Naira suffered grave managerial lacuna, leading to its being shut down.
A committee set up by the administration of Fubara to study and evolve a management plan for the hospital was yet to submit a report before the declaration of a state of emergency in the state, leading to the six month suspension of the governor, his deputy and the members of the state assembly.
As the political situation in Rivers State returns to normalcy, in a few weeks’ time, there is the need for a concerted effort to ensure that the Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Centre is given the necessary attention to make it become operational.
The people of Rivers State and indeed Nigerians in the South-South and South-East regions are eagerly awaiting the re-opening of the facility and making it operational as it would help provide early detection, timely intervention and advanced treatment, which would significantly improve survival of patients. It would further reduce the stress and financial burden on families as there would b a reduced need to travel abroad fo the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Apart from being a strategic investment aimed at saving lives, reducing healthcare costs, and improving the overall quality of life of citizens, the centre would create jobs, boost medical tourism, become a hub for research, training and innovation, equipping healthcare professional with modern skills and inevitably creating local solutions to health challenges in Rivers State.
The people of Rivers State and Nigerians, as it were, can’t wait any longer to see this multi-billion strategic investment become operational.
By: Celestine Ogolo
