By MoH CT
Worth Noting:
- Through collaborations with County Governments, the CS said the Ministry has enhanced access to cancer screening through training of primary health workers and distribution of screening equipment to health facilities across the country.
- She noted that the ministry has also establishment ten county chemotherapy centers, three regional comprehensive cancer treatment centres in Mombasa, Nakuru & Garissa to enhance public funded treatment services for cancer patients.
- “The center of excellence in oncology at the Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital has also been established where cutting technologies such as molecular imaging and cyber knife treatment have been made available for all Kenyans,” she added.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Dr. Susan Nakhumicha says there is a need to build financial viable and sustainable Primary Health Care (PHC) to fulfill the goals of providing quality health services on an affordable and equitable basis.
Speaking yesterday during the opening ceremony of the National Cancer Summit 2023. the CS said NHIF KENYA will be transformed to a National Social Health Insurance Fund by July 2023 to strengthen PHC and ensure Kenyans at the lower end access quality healthcare.
Dr Nakhumicha told the delegates that Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program has identified cancer as a priority focus area to accelerate the access to care services with reduced financial burden.
“In this regard, we have continued to strengthen our primary health care services to offer affordable cancer screening and early detection services that are critical to early cancer diagnosis,’ she said.
Through collaborations with County Governments, the CS said the Ministry has enhanced access to cancer screening through training of primary health workers and distribution of screening equipment to health facilities across the country.
She noted that the ministry has also establishment ten county chemotherapy centers, three regional comprehensive cancer treatment centres in Mombasa, Nakuru & Garissa to enhance public funded treatment services for cancer patients.
“The center of excellence in oncology at the Kenyatta University Teaching Referral and Research Hospital has also been established where cutting technologies such as molecular imaging and cyber knife treatment have been made available for all Kenyans,” she added.
Further, the CS informed that through the Kenya Kwanza Health Plan, the ministry has envisioned a chronic disease fund that will further bolster the financing for cancer interventions and stem the capital flight due to medical tourism for cancer services.
She further noted that in recognition of the need for concerted efforts to address the rising disease burden, the Ministry of Health has put in place an elaborate legal and policy framework to guide appropriate cancer control interventions.
It is against this background that the National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCI Kenya) was established under the Cancer Prevention and Control Act (No. 15 of 2012) with a mandate to provide oversight and regulation of cancer prevention and control of the country.
In 2021, the Ministry constituted a National Taskforce to review the institutional arrangements and prevailing capacity for the delivery of affordable, responsive and high-quality cancer care services.
The National Cancer Summit whose theme is “Uniting Our Voices and taking Action” is expected to provide an appropriate platform for stakeholders from across all sectors to, among other discussions, deliberate on the recommendations arising from the Cancer Taskforce Report, review the progress made over the last 10 years in addressing the cancer burden, identify areas of learning from successful strategies and together, formulate solutions for collective action.
Cancer remains a major public health concern in our country. It is the third leading cause of death in Kenya. In 2020, the country reported 42,000 new cancer cases and 27,000 cancer-related deaths.
The top 5 cancers are those of the breast, cervix, prostate, oesophagus and non – Hodgkin’s lymphoma. These 5 cancers account for nearly half (48%) of the cancer burden in the country.
These 5 cancers account for nearly half (48%) of the cancer burden in the country. Notably, nine (9) women die every day due to cervical cancer while nine (9) in every ten (10) persons with esophageal cancer will succumb to the disease.
Currently, the majority of persons diagnosed with cancer will succumb to the disease since approximately 70% of cases are diagnosed in advanced stages when cure is almost impossible.
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