According to the World Bank, Nigeria's population is just under 186 million. Once the fourth machine is completed, there will be a working radiotherapy machine for every 46.5 million people in Nigeria. Even if the eight machines Nigeria had in 2010 were all working - that would still be just one machine per 23.2 million people.
In Kenya, there's a machine for every 5.4 million people. Elsewhere, there's a machine for every 2.2 million people in India, every 188,000 in the UK and every 84,000 in the US.
US pets have access to a larger number of radiotherapy machines than Nigerian people do - in 2010, research by Margaret McEntee and John Farrelly counted at least 76 linear accelerators serving animals across the US. In fact, a database held by the Veterinary Cancer Society suggests there might be an even higher number in use now. That means there's at least one radiotherapy machine for every 1.28 million cats and dogs in the US.
A dog in Miami with lymphoma has more chance of being treated than a person in Lagos with a brain tumour.
For both US pets and Nigerian people, cost is a barrier to radiotherapy even when there are functioning machines. Radiotherapy for a pet can cost up to $10,000. A study at the University College Hospital in Ibadan suggested that eight in 10 Nigerian patients can't afford radiotherapy without assistance - and it's not usually covered by state insurance.
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