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Africa cancer burden to double in 20 years - WHO
Patients and caretakers wait to be attended to at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago, Kampala, in 2018. Experts doubt as to whether Uganda’s healthcare system is braced for an influx of cancer patients. PHOTO/FILE
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- Dr Tedros, however, applauded the Health ministry and the Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU) for the significant improvement in how cancer patients and other patients with life-limiting diseases are managed.
The fourth Uganda conference on cancer and palliative care ended on Friday last week with a call to the government to increase access to care for patients and strengthen the disease prevention drive as the number of cases rises.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) director general, in a virtual address to government officials and participants in the conference, projected that the cancer burden would double in the next two decades.
“Every year, 57 million people around the world need palliative care but globally, only 14 percent of people who need palliative care can access it. This exposes families to unnecessary suffering, hardship and social isolation. And the unmet need continues to grow. In Africa, the cancer burden is expected to double in the next two decades,” he said during the two-day conference in Kampala.
Dr Tedros, however, applauded the Health ministry and the Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU) for the significant improvement in how cancer patients and other patients with life-limiting diseases are managed.
“Uganda has been taking action, including, by providing access to oral liquid morphine [for pain management] free of charge and increasing capacity through public-private partnerships. You have also built regional cancer centres to improve access and quality,” he said.
Ms Rose Kiwanuka, a retired palliative care nurse who pioneered the discipline in the country, revealed during the conference that the number of districts providing palliative care has increased from 32 in the year 2009 to 107 in the year 2022.
“We need to interest young people in palliative care in terms of training. Palliative care is for all, whether rich or poor and it should be as available as air,” she said.
About 550,000 Ugandans need palliative care but only 15 percent can access it, according to information from the African Palliative Care Association.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Nixon Niyonzima, the head of research and training at Uganda Cancer Institute, said of 34,000 who develop cancer every year in Uganda, only around 7,000 are detected and access care. “Our goal as UCI is to elevate access to cancer care from the current 20 percent to an impressive 85 percent by 2026,” he said.
On the issue of implementing universal health coverage, Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director general of health services at the Health ministry, said they are expediting plans to have national health insurance.
