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World Cancer Day: 573, 653 Deaths Occurred In Africa In 2022 – WHO

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As the world on Sunday marks this year’s World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization, WHO, has raised alarm over what it described as a ‘disheartening’ situation of cancer in the African region, disclosing that approximately 882 882 new cancer cases occurred in the WHO African Region with around 573 653 deaths in 2022.

Disclosing these and more in a message to mark the 2024 World Cancer Day with the theme: “Together, we challenge those in power”, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti explained that about 50 per cent of new cancer cases in adults in the region are due to breast, cervical, prostate, colorectal, and liver cancers.

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Moeti who challenged political officeholders in Africa to go the extra mile to ensure a cancer-free Africa, warned that if urgent measures are not taken, cancer mortality in the region is projected to reach about one million deaths per year by 2030.

“Also, in 20 years, cancer death rates in Africa will overtake the global average of 30 per cent. This is more so because cancer survival rates in the WHO African region currently average 12 per cent much lower than the average of over 80 per cent in High-Income Countries.

READ ALSO: Expert Advocates AI Application For Breast Cancer Treatment

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“Nevertheless, we commend the progress made in cancer prevention and care in our region. For instance, 17 countries have introduced high-performance-based screening tests in line with the WHO recommendations.

“Also, 28 of our Member States have introduced nationwide HPV vaccination to reach about 60 per cent of the priority population targeted with HPV vaccination,” she explained.

She said this year’s theme was auspicious as it reinforces all persons and groups’ universal right to health.

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Moeti said regardless of socioeconomic status, geographic location, age, and gender, every person must be afforded an equal chance at the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

She called on the region’s countries, communities, partners, and civil society to unite and foster universal access to cancer prevention and care.

READ ALSO: Cancer: FG To Review Hospice, Palliative Care Policy – Official

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She said: “Stakeholders must identify feasible priorities, implement evidence-based population-wide interventions and invest in cancer control.

“Countries should use the updated WHO Best Buys, the facilitative tool designed to enable governments to select lifesaving policies and interventions for non-communicable diseases.

“Leaders are responsible for ensuring that cancer prevention and care deploy technologies and therapies that are available at low cost to affected persons and their families, which are value for money.

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“Furthermore, countries should strengthen information systems to gather quality data for decision-making.

READ ALSO: 14-year-old Invents Soap For Cancer Treatment, Wins US Young Scientist Award

“We reiterate that civil society, especially organisations of cancer survivors or persons with lived cancer experiences, are critical in the fight against cancer in Africa. Such a whole-of-society approach to cancer prevention and care is the essence of this year’s World Cancer Day theme.

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“Together, we challenge those in power” to go the extra mile for a cancer-free Africa.”

Noting that World Cancer Day is marked every 4th of February, She explained that between 2022 and 2024, the focus of World Cancer Day was to help close the cancer gap.

She said this year marked the third and final year of the campaign.

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Moeti said the theme encompasses the global demand for leaders to prioritise and invest in cancer prevention and care and to do more to achieve a just and cancer-free world.
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US Suspends Work Visas For Nigerian, Foreign Truck Drivers

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The United States government has suspended the issuance of work visas for Nigerian and other foreign truck drivers, citing job security concerns and safety risks for American citizens.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision on Thursday, saying it takes immediate effect.

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According to him, the rising number of foreign truck drivers on U.S. highways is both threatening lives and reducing opportunities for American truckers.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: US Visa Restrictions On ECOWAS Countries Threaten Regional Prosperity — FG

Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

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“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said.

The move comes under President Donald Trump’s renewed clampdown on immigration since returning to office in January 2025.

READ ALSO:US Visa Adjudication Sparks Concerns Over Diplomatic Relations

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As part of new measures, travellers from countries with high visa overstay rates or weak travel databases will be required to pay a bond of $5,000 to $15,000 before obtaining certain categories of visas.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria also directed all visa applicants to disclose their social media handles from the past five years, warning that failure to comply could result in denial of applications and possible ineligibility for future visas.

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Judge Orders Closure Of Trump’s Controversial ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Migrant Camp

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A US federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration and Florida state government from bringing any new migrants to the detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and ordered much of the site to be dismantled, effectively shuttering the facility.

Florida’s government swiftly announced it would appeal the decision.

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The detention centre was hastily assembled in just eight days in June with bunk beds, wire cages and large white tents at an abandoned airfield in Florida’s Everglades wetlands, home to a large population of alligators.

President Donald Trump, who has vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants, visited the centre last month, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators will serve as guards.

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The White House has nicknamed the facility “Alligator Alcatraz,” a reference to the former island prison in San Francisco Bay that Trump has said he wants to reopen.

The centre was planned to hold 3,000 migrants, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

But it has come under fire from both environmentalists and critics of Trump’s crackdown on migration, who consider the facility to be inhumane.

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The new ruling on Thursday by District Judge Kathleen Williams comes after a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

READ ALSO:Trump, Putin Make No Breakthrough On Ukraine Deal, End Summit

The environmental groups argue that the detention centre threatens the sensitive Everglades ecosystem and was hastily built without conducting the legally required environmental impact studies.

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– Sixty-day deadline –

Earlier this month, Williams had ordered further construction at the centre to be temporarily halted.

Now she has ordered the Trump administration and the state of Florida — which is governed by Republican Ron DeSantis — to remove all temporary fencing installed at the centre within 60 days, as well as all lighting, generators and waste and sewage treatment systems.

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The order also prohibits “bringing any additional persons onto the… site who were not already being detained at the site.”

READ ALSO:Trump Threatens 250% Tariffs On Foreign Pharmaceuticals

Several detainees have spoken with AFP about the conditions at the centre, including a lack of medical care, mistreatment and the alleged violation of their legal rights.

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“They don’t even treat animals like this. This is like torture,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Cuban who called AFP from inside the centre.

He recently shared a cell with about 30 people, a space enclosed by chain-linked fencing that he compared to a chicken coop.

The Trump administration has said it wants to make this a model for other detention centres across the country.

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Japan City Mulls Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

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A Japanese city will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties.

The limit, which will be recommended for all residents in central Japan’s Toyoake City, will not be binding, and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance.

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The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday.

The draft urges elementary school students to avoid smartphones after 9:00 pm, and junior high students and older are advised not to use them after 10:00 pm.

READ ALSO:Two Japanese Boxers Die From Brain Injuries At Same Event

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The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic.

“I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible,” one user wrote on social media platform X.

In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone),” wrote another.

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Others said smartphone use should be a decision for families to make for themselves.

The angry response prompted the mayor to clarify that the two-hour limit was not mandatory, emphasising that the guidelines “acknowledge smartphones are useful and indispensable in daily life”.

READ ALSO:Japan’s Petabit: What To Know About Internet Speed That Can Download 67 Million Songs In A second

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The ordinance will be considered next week, and if passed, it will come into effect in October.

In 2020, the western Kagawa region issued a first-of-its-kind ordinance calling for children to be limited to an hour a day of gaming during the week, and 90 minutes during school holidays.

It also suggested children aged 12 to 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9:00 pm, with the limit rising to 10:00 pm for children between 15 and 18.

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Japanese youth spend slightly over five hours on average a day online on weekdays, according to a survey published in March by the Children and Families Agency.

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