Abuja, Nigeria – June 3, 2025 — First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu has officially launched the Partnership to Eliminate Cervical Cancer in Nigeria (PECCiN), a nationwide initiative aimed at eradicating cervical cancer as a public health threat by 2030. The campaign was inaugurated at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, with key stakeholders from government, health institutions, and international partners in attendance.
In her address, Mrs. Tinubu emphasized the urgency of combating cervical cancer, which remains the second most common cancer among Nigerian women despite being largely preventable. She highlighted the success of the national rollout of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in 2023, which has protected over 12 million girls within nine months.
“Cervical cancer is a silent killer, striking hardest at our most vulnerable women,” the First Lady stated. “Yet, it is preventable. We must build on our momentum—expand HPV screening, scale up treatment through innovative, cost-effective technologies, and establish these services where they matter most: in our primary and secondary health care facilities.”
Mrs. Tinubu called on development partners, private sector players, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions to commit their resources, expertise, and innovation to the national campaign. She also urged state and local governments, healthcare professionals, and schools to become active champions of women’s health and immunization.
To support the initiative, the First Lady announced a ₦1 billion donation from her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) to the National Cancer Fund. “Together, we must invest in a future where no woman dies from a preventable disease,” she said.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), represented by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, endorsed the initiative, pledging policy support and funding at the state level to strengthen primary healthcare systems, especially in rural and underserved communities.
Professor Isaac Adewole, Chairman of the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination and former Minister of Health, noted that approximately 60 million Nigerian women are at risk of developing cervical cancer, with about 22 women dying daily from this preventable and treatable disease. He emphasized that PECCiN aims to drive coordinated, sub-national government-led expansion of cervical cancer elimination activities and foster multisectoral collaboration across public and private sectors.
The launch of PECCiN marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s intensified fight against cervical cancer, signaling high-level political will to marshal resources and partnerships to protect women and girls nationwide. As Mrs. Tinubu concluded, “Let us rise to this occasion and write a new chapter—one where every Nigerian girl and woman can live free from cervical cancer.”
