U.S. Mission Nigeria-supported “Project PINK BLUE” launched the Upgrade Oncology
“Project PINK BLUE” is a non-profit organization engaged in raising cancer awareness, patient navigation, advocacy and free breast and cervical cancer screening for underprivileged women.
Upgrade Oncology is a capacity development program focused on improving cancer treatment and care through the provision of medical oncology training, update/top-up trainings, development of medical oncology curriculum, review and
domestication of the treatment guidelines for better cancer care in Nigeria.
As part of the Upgrade Oncology initiative, two U.S. based certified medical oncologists will visit Nigeria, through the Fulbright Specialist Program, to work with 40 trained clinical oncologists in Nigeria with the goal of improving cancer care and mutual learning between the professionals and the institutions.
The Nigerian medical oncologists and the US medical oncologists will work together to develop training modules for first class medical oncology care in Nigeria.
“Cancer is a serious health challenge in Nigeria, taking away Nigerians in their prime, at a time when they are needed most and often when they are most relevant to provide mentorship to the younger generation … I am delighted that Project Pink Blue is supported by the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to take another bold step to support Nigerian clinical oncologists with a medical oncology program, said Prof. Peter Onyekwere Ebigbo, PhD, Board Chairman, Project PINK BLUE.
The Upgrade Oncology training will take place in the second quarter of 2018, for one week in Abuja and one week in Lagos. Forty participating medical oncologists will be drawn from Centers of Excellence (CoE) hospitals in eleven states including: Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Anambra, Kaduna, Sokoto, Gombe, Borno, Oyo, Rivers and Edo.
Upgrade Oncology is part of ongoing support from the U.S. Mission in Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health to improve cancer care in Nigeria. In November 2017, the U.S. Mission Nigeria through the Fulbright Specialist program supported the first breast cancer patient navigation training for 33 nurses in Abuja, hosted by Project Pink Blue.
