Nigeria targets local cancer equipment production by 2030

Nigeria aims to establish local production, assembly, and servicing of radiotherapy and imaging equipment by 2030 to bolster its cancer care infrastructure. This initiative follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese partners during the Link Global Summit on Innovation and Practice in Oncology in Beijing.

The partnership focuses on technology transfer, joint research and development, and structured academic exchanges. Dr. Iziaq Salako, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, emphasized that the goal extends beyond importing machinery to building a domestic technology industry. He noted that any new technology must be accompanied by training and maintenance systems, stating, “Machines without people are monuments.”

Key components of the plan include establishing a clinical training base in Nigeria through the China-Africa Hospital Alliance to serve as a West African hub. The initiative also seeks to implement AI-assisted treatment planning, tele-oncology links, and twinning programs between Nigerian cancer centers, such as the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), and Chinese hospitals. To support domestic manufacturing, the Nigerian government is providing zero-duty and zero-VAT incentives for health manufacturing.