Cure for cancer is achievable – Afe Babalola

Legal icon and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has expressed the university’s readiness to find a lasting solution to Cancer treatment.

Speaking during the signing of an ambitious Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese firm, Cherami-PV Group, Babalola declared that the university is ready to deploy artificial intelligence-driven solutions for early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

The founder said cancer, like other complex diseases, could be defeated through sustained research, collaboration and determination.

He said,  “With the partnership, a cure for cancer is achievable”, describing the deadly disease as one of the greatest health challenges confronting humanity.

The ABUAD Vice-Chancellor, Professor Smaranda Olarinde, said that the partnership was aimed at addressing one of Nigeria’s most pressing public health challenges.

Prof. Olarinde said the partnership would leverage the AI-enabled breast imaging to improve early diagnosis, enhance accuracy and expand access to quality screening, stressing that technology would complement, not replace, medical expertise.

The VC who described the partnership as a model for impactful collaboration between academia, healthcare and industry, noted that the pilot phase of the project would ensure ethical compliance, capacity building and evidence-based implementation.

She expressed confidence that the partnership would deliver measurable benefits to Ekiti State, serve as a model for similar collaborations across Nigeria and Africa, and ultimately contribute to saving lives, advancing knowledge and strengthening global partnerships.

Giving the technical details on the agreement, the CMD of ABUAD Hospital, Dr. Akinola Akinmade, disclosed that about 32,000 women are diagnosed with the disease annually, while no fewer than 16,000 die each year and 42 women die every hour.

He described cancer as one of the leading causes of death in Nigeria, with breast cancer posing a particularly grave threat to women.

Akinmade said early detection remained critical to reversing the ugly trend, noting that the partnership between ABUAD and Cherami-PV group would deploy artificial intelligence to enable rapid and accurate diagnosis.

The CMD added that the initiative would also provide telemedicine support to complement ABUAD’s existing manpower, improve clinical decision-making and strengthen capacity building for healthcare professionals.

The co-founder of Cherami Investment, Prof. Wei Xiaolin, expressed delight over the partnership, describing ABUAD as one of the most outstanding academic and medical institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He said that the decision to partner with ABUAD was informed by the university’s unparalleled reputation for innovation, research excellence and its consistent delivery of world-class healthcare services.

He added that the partnership between Cherami Investment and ABUAD was anchored on shared values and a collective resolve to address critical health challenges, especially cancer.