There may be good news for cancer patients in Nigeria, as the government is planning to review a hospice and palliative policy to improve their quality of life.

The Federal Government says it will review the National Policy and Strategic Plan for Hospice and Palliative Care 2021, to ensure cancer patients live a fairly good quality life.

Dr Uchechukwu Nwokwu, the National Coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme, disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, during an interview with reporters.

Nwokwu said that the policy, inaugurated in 2021 was meant to institutionalise hospice and palliative care services in Nigeria.

According to the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, IAHPC, Hospice and Palliative Care, HPC, is the active holistic care of individuals across all ages with serious health-related suffering due to severe illness and especially of those near the end of life.

The association also says HPC focuses on a continuum of care from diagnosis till patient’s death and bereavement.

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It also addresses all domains that may cause suffering, including end-of-life care, loss, grief, and bereavement.

According to Nwokwu, though the policy is already being implemented, it is not up to the expected scale.

“We are very certain that by 2024, we will review the document and then review our level of implementation as a country and see what we can do to improve on it.

“We have a new government, and we are hoping that the Renewed Hope Agenda will also translate into addressing palliative care needs of cancer patients and other patients that need palliative care services,” he said.