What Nigeria Can Learn from the U.S. Data on Cervical Cancer and Heart Health – Expert

By Tosin Clegg

Nigeria’s battle with cervical cancer and rising heart disease cases has come under scrutiny following fresh insights from the U.S.-based research presented by Mercy Itopa, a pharmacist and health administrator at the Appalachian Student Research Forum, East Tennessee State University in 2024.

In two poster presentations obtained by this medium, Itopa analyzed U.S. datasets on cervical cancer screening and cardiovascular health, linking them to Nigeria’s persistent gaps in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. She argued that Nigeria can no longer afford to ignore lessons from countries with stronger data-driven health systems.

Her presentations revealed how early detection and continuous screening in the United States have reduced cervical cancer deaths significantly, while poor access to HPV vaccination and limited screening facilities in Nigeria keep mortality rates high. “The tragedy is not the disease itself but the silence around it,” she observed.

Itopa emphasized that while the U.S. has institutionalized robust cancer registries and data analytics, Nigeria continues to lag in basic data collection, making it difficult to track disease burden or allocate resources effectively. Without accurate numbers, she warned, interventions remain blind.

Turning to cardiovascular health, her second poster drew parallels between the U.S. emphasis on prevention through data monitoring and Nigeria’s largely reactive model. “By the time many Nigerians present at hospitals with hypertension or cardiac issues, it is already too late,” she wrote. “The gap is not only in treatment but in the absence of structured preventive care.”

Her analysis highlighted how U.S. hospitals use health data analytics to identify at-risk populations and intervene early, a system that is still missing in Nigeria’s public health architecture. This, she argued, is why heart disease continues to climb unchecked across both rural and urban areas.

Drawing from her academic training at East Tennessee State University, where she earned a Master of Health Administration (MHA) and a Graduate Certificate in Health Data Analytics, Itopa argued that Nigeria must integrate pharmacists and data scientists into frontline health policy to bridge these gaps.

The presentations also underscored the gender dimension of these health crises. Cervical cancer remains one of the leading killers of women in sub-Saharan Africa, while women in Nigeria are less likely to be screened due to stigma, cost, and lack of awareness. “We cannot treat women’s health as optional,” she stressed.

Her comparison showed that the U.S. success story is not only about advanced equipment but about building systems that make preventive care accessible. She urged Nigerian health policymakers to replicate such models by expanding insurance coverage, subsidizing screenings, and enforcing vaccination programs.

According to her analysis, Nigeria’s failure to address these silent killers is partly due to weak governance of health systems. “We are losing people not just because of disease but because of neglect,” she wrote in one of the papers. “This is a governance issue as much as it is a medical one.”

Itopa’s perspective carries added weight because it is grounded in both clinical practice and administrative expertise. Having worked in HIV and TB programs in Nigeria before transitioning into health systems research in the United States, she brings what she described as a “dual lens” to the debate.

Her message was not entirely bleak. The papers suggested that Nigeria still has a window of opportunity to reverse the trend, particularly if cervical cancer vaccination campaigns and heart health screening programs are prioritized in the next decade. “We can learn, adapt, and localize these models,” she concluded.