Cancer care in West Africa; why one Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) case signals a turning point
The story of cancer care in Africa is largely defined not by what is possible locally, but by what is available beyond the continent’s borders. This challenge is becoming more acute as the cancer burden rises. The World Health Organisation estimates that cancer deaths in Africa will increase by more than 85 per cent by 2030, driven by population growth, ageing, and limited access to timely diagnosis and treatment.
For decades, patients facing complex diagnoses have often been compelled to seek treatment overseas, shouldering significant travel, time and financial burdens. This pattern of outbound medical travel has shaped healthcare expectations and reinforced inequities in access to life-saving care.
However, this model is beginning to show signs of change. Recent statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria indicate that expenditure on medical tourism in Nigeria fell by 96.2 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, declining from US$2.38 million to just US$900k. While not all outbound care is captured in official FX-tracked data, healthcare experts suggest that the trend reflects a deeper transformation driven by expanding domestic capacity, increased specialist expertise, and growing confidence in Nigeria’s ability to deliver advanced, world-class medical care locally.
Such a decline matters for two related reasons: firstly, it highlights the economic burden of medical travel. Historically, African economies have lost billions of dollars annually as patients pursued advanced treatments abroad, weakening incentives to invest in local systems. Secondly, the trend suggests that expanding domestic clinical capacity is a necessary strategy not only for clinical outcomes but also for economic stability.
One area in which this necessity is most evident is oncology. Multiple tools are needed to treat cancer patients; one of the most challenging for the African continent is the provision of radiotherapy. According to the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP), while 52 per cent of cancer patients need radiation, access to a functional radiation machine is severely limited in many countries. The West and Central African regions in particular are far below the recommended minimum of four to eight per million, leaving millions of patients without access to timely treatment, despite its central role in cancer treatment.
Against this backdrop, advanced radiation techniques such as Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) take on particular significance. SBRT is among the most advanced radiation therapies available today. It delivers high-dose, highly targeted radiation to tumours over fewer sessions, reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissue and improving patient tolerance. In high-income health systems, SBRT has become a standard option for treating certain lung, liver, prostate and spinal cancers. Until recently, however, such treatment was effectively inaccessible in West Africa.
Local access to advanced therapies like SBRT has important implications for patients and health systems alike. For patients, it reduces the need for disruptive and costly travel, enabling treatment to begin earlier and in familiar environments. It alleviates the emotional and financial strain associated with extended stays abroad, often exacerbated by exchange rate volatility and economic constraints. For health systems, it retains investment, talent and expertise, offering a foundation on which to build broader clinical competencies and multidisciplinary care pathways.
This shift is particularly urgent given the broader rise of non-communicable diseases across Africa. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are now among the fastest-growing contributors to mortality on the continent, even as health systems remain largely oriented towards acute infectious threats. Without deliberate investment in advanced diagnostics, specialised treatment and workforce development, the gap between disease burden and care capacity will continue to widen.
The recent successful delivery of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) by the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) marks a significant milestone. This advanced treatment is now fully accessible to patients at AMCE in Abuja, Nigeria. The localisation of SBRT demonstrates what can be achieved when cutting-edge technology is combined with robust clinical governance, specialised training, and purpose-built infrastructure. Beyond being a technological achievement, it provides a practical model for strengthening oncology care more broadly, one that emphasises seamless integration across diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, rather than isolated technological upgrades.
Therefore, the expansion of SBRT access should be seen not as an endpoint, but as a catalyst for joint action. Governments, in partnership with regulators, academic institutions, professional bodies, and investors, can collectively prioritise oncology within national health strategies, accelerate approval pathways for advanced technologies, and strengthen workforce training pipelines to ensure sustainable capacity. Development finance institutions and private investors can collaborate on blended financing models that reduce risk for high-capital equipment while keeping treatment affordable for patients.
Regional collaboration will be critical. Cancer does not respect borders, and neither should capacity-building efforts. Shared training programmes, cross-border referral networks, and harmonised clinical standards can amplify impact far beyond individual institutions.
A single successful SBRT case cannot, on its own, transform cancer outcomes across West Africa. But it challenges a long-held assumption: that world-class cancer care must be sought elsewhere. It demonstrates that, with aligned expertise, governance, and infrastructure, advanced oncology can be delivered locally.
The goal now is to build on this proof point together, ensuring that access to life-saving cancer treatment in Africa is determined not by the ability to travel, but by the strength and collaboration of systems developed at home.
BY DR AISHA UMAR
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