Experts Approve Nigeria’s First National Cancer Registry Standards

Cancer Registry experts have scrutinized and approved Nigeria’s first-ever National Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to fix the country’s critical shortage of cancer data.

The national validation meeting for the National SOP which was championed by the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), took place in Abuja, on Monday, June 29, 2026.

Speaking while declaring the validation meeting open, the Director General of NICRAT, Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, said the meeting represents what he described as “the culmination of deliberate investments in strengthening Nigeria’s cancer data ecosystem.”

He explained that: “By establishing a unified framework for cancer registry operations, we are laying the foundation for greater consistency, improved data quality, and enhanced coordination across the country.”

Prof. Malami further noted that: “Since inception, NICRAT has remained steadfast in its commitment to transforming Nigeria’s cancer surveillance landscape.

“We have championed the declaration of cancer as a notifiable disease, strengthened population-based cancer registries through the deployment of CanReg5 software and improved infrastructure, and also built the capacity of over 100 cancer registrars nationwide.

“These deliberate efforts are enabling Nigeria to generate high-quality, harmonized data and take greater ownership of the evidence needed to shape effective cancer control policies and programmes.”

He, therefore, commended all partners, technical experts, and stakeholders for their support, collaboration, and relentless commitment to the journey that led to success of the SOP.

The NICRAT DG further applauded the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako and the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu for supporting the Institute to achieve its mandate.

Earlier, the Chairman of the SOP, Prof. Sani Malami, noted that the objective of the validation meeting was to “conduct a technical review and finalize the national SOP covering all core cancer registry components, ensuring alignment with International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

“Secure stakeholders buy-in and adoption of the SOP as Nigeria’s first standardized national framework for cancer case registration across all cancer registries.

“Introduce the IARC Registry Evaluation Tool as a baseline instrument for institutionalizing ongoing performance monitoring and quality assurance of cancer registry operations post-adoption.”

While describing the event as historic in Nigeria’s effort to having a reliable cancer data for decision making, he disclosed that the Standard Operating Procedure will be launched in the next few months.