By Justina Auta
As Nigeria celebrates Children’s Day on May 27, a day set aside for joy, play and festivities, hospital wards tell a different story for children battling cancer.
While many children look forward to the celebrations with games, outings and laughter, seven-year-old Lois Adebayo is spending the day in a hospital ward.
She has spent much of the last three years battling leukaemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
Her mother, Mrs Glory Adebayo, fondly calls her “my warrior princess”, a name earned through countless hospital visits, painful procedures and a resilience that continues to inspire those around her.
“The journey has not been easy, but we thank God for bringing us this far,” Adebayo said, her voice carrying both gratitude and exhaustion.
Similarly, Mrs Sadiya Usman, mother of 14-month-old Maryam Yakubu, who is receiving treatment for cancer, said the visit and gifts had reminded them of life outside the hospital walls filled with laughter, joy and hope.
For families like theirs, childhood cancer is more than a medical diagnosis; it is an emotional, financial and psychological battle that often reshapes every aspect of life.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), childhood cancer remains one of the leading causes of disease-related deaths among children and adolescents globally.
An estimated 400,000 children and adolescents aged between zero and 19 years develop cancer every year.
The most common types include leukaemia, brain cancers, lymphomas and solid tumours such as neuroblastoma and Wilms tumour.
Experts say survival rates in low and middle-income countries remain significantly lower than in developed countries due to late diagnosis, limited access to treatment and inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
This reality was at the centre of a Children’s Day outreach organised by the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation (OkapiCCF) for children receiving treatment at the National Hospital Abuja, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi and University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.
The outreach, held ahead of the official Children’s Day celebration due to its coincidence with the Eid-el-Kabir festivities, sought to remind young patients that they remain valued members of society in spite of their health challenges.
For a few hours, hospital wards gave way to smiles, gifts, laughter and music as volunteers, health workers and families celebrated the courage of children fighting cancer.
According to Ms Chioma Ikechukwu, Event Coordinator of OkapiCCF, the initiative was designed to ensure that children undergoing treatment do not feel isolated from the outside world.
“We go beyond funding treatment. We celebrate Christmas with them, Children’s Day and International Childhood Cancer Day.
“We are here to make them feel loved, make them happy and let them know that they still have a lot to live for,” she said.
Ikechukwu said one of the greatest challenges facing childhood cancer care in Nigeria was the widespread lack of awareness.
“Many people do not even know that children can have cancer. By the time they realise it, the disease is often at an advanced stage.
“Cancer is not a death sentence, especially for children when detected early,” she said.
Medical experts share similar concerns, saying delayed diagnosis remains one of the major barriers to improving survival rates among children with cancer.
Dr Kefas Jibir-Gurama, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at FMC Abuja, said many families initially attribute symptoms to common illnesses or seek alternative interventions before presenting at hospitals.
“The success of treatment depends largely on the stage at which the cancer is diagnosed.
“When children present early, outcomes are generally better. Delayed presentation reduces treatment success and sometimes leaves only palliative care options,” he said.
Jibir-Gurama, noted that beyond the physical burden of treatment, children and their families often face emotional trauma, anxiety and financial hardship.
He said celebrations such as Children’s Day offered psychological relief and helped restore a sense of normalcy for affected children.
“When children receive gifts and participate in activities, it boosts their morale and psychological well-being. It gives them a sense of belonging,” he said.
At the National Hospital Abuja, Chief Consultant Paediatrician and Head of Paediatric Oncology/Infectious Diseases Unit, Dr Wunmi Oyesakin, described OkapiCCF as a longstanding pillar of support for children with cancer.
“In the last 10 years, the support from this organisation has been remarkable. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many activities stopped, they still reached out to these children.
“The magnitude of what they have done for our patients cannot be fully quantified,” she said.
Oyesakin, however, stressed that charity alone could not solve the challenges facing childhood cancer care.
According to her, Nigeria urgently needs greater government investment in specialised facilities, diagnostic equipment, blood product processing machines and subsidised chemotherapy.
She also called for improved training for healthcare workers and wider access to advanced diagnostic tools such as PET scans.
“Survival rates for childhood cancer in developed countries are about 80 per cent. In Nigeria, we are still dealing with survival rates below 20 per cent.
“With the right interventions, we can change that narrative,” she said.
For many parents, however, the most immediate challenge remains the cost of treatment.
Adebayo said her daughter had recently been recommended for a bone marrow transplant estimated at more than N90 million, an amount far beyond her family’s reach.
“We are still fighting. We do not know where the money will come from, but we are hopeful.
“I want to appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to help us save this child from the pain and suffering she has endured,” she said.
Like many parents caring for children with cancer, she also expressed hope that government support and insurance coverage would eventually ease the burden on affected families.
Stakeholders at the event agreed that while awareness campaigns, philanthropy and hospital-based support systems have improved outcomes for some children, much more remains to be done.
For children like Lois, every smile, every gift and every show of support serves as a reminder that their lives matter, their dreams remain valid and their fight is not one they face alone.
As Children’s Day 2026 is marked across Nigeria, the stories of young cancer patients serve as a reminder that beyond the celebrations lie children whose greatest hope is not gifts or parties, but survival and a future. (NANFeatures)
Edited by Tosin Kolade
