Ecancer Special Issue, December 2021 Oncology nursing and the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 in the Global South Supplement 11. COVID-19 AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL NURSING CARE CHALLENGES OF PATIENTS WITH CHILDHOOD CANCER AND THEIR FAMILIES IN NIGERIA: A NURSING PERSPECTIVE Authors 1 Agnes Anarado *** , 1 Hope Opara, 1 Chisom Mbadugha, 2 May Ulunma Obiora, 3 Chizoma Millicent Ndikom, 4 Maryam Adebisi Hassan 1 Department of Nursing Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences & Technology University of Nigeria. Enugu Campus 2 Oncology Clinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituka Ozalla Enugu 3 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Oyo State 4 Paediatric Oncology Ward, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Ibadan Oyo State. Corresponding author: Agnes Anarado Email: agnes.anarado@unn.edu.ng Introduction Nigeria, with its growing population of adult and paediatric oncology patients, has only eight tertiary comprehensive cancer centres established by the federal government [1] and one private health institution that has facilities to offer cancer patients surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy—with scarce expert human resources. Paediatric oncology services in Nigeria grapple with the same weak human capital, poorly developed infrastructure, weak referral systems, and meagre support services, and appear worse off with less national attention than the adult patients [1]. In southeast Nigeria, researchers have reported an increasing prevalence of childhood cancers; most patients come from rural areas and are of low socio-economic status, and they largely present with advanced stage disease [2} Therefore, paediatric oncology patient care presents greater challenges in the face of COVID -19 pandemic [3]. On the 28 th of February 2020, Nigeria reported their first case of COVID-19 [4]. Since then, there has been a rapid rise in the number of cases, and, hence, the Federal Government declared a lockdown from 30 March until 1 June 2020 to contain the virus spread [4]; yet the spread continues. The resultant effects of the lockdown have led to enormous economic losses and increases in mental health issues [5]. Oxfam warns that more people will die from hunger than from COVID-19 infection [6]. For children, COVID-19 reports indicate a low incidence of confirmed cases, a milder clinical picture, and rare severe disease requiring intensive admissions of children, in comparison to adults and elderly [7]. However, children with cancer currently receiving treatment are known to be immuno-compromised [8]. Therefore, in the absence of adequate protective measures for treatment of children with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality may increase—not essentially as a result of infection but due