Kenya is hosting its first ever national cancer summit beginning Thursday.
The two-day event is to review the status of the cancer response to date in line with the Cancer Prevention and Control Act 2012 and the attainment of Universal Health Coverage.
One of the major focuses for the health sector stakeholders is to highlight the role of multi-sectoral strategies among stakeholders and display innovations, technologies, and best practices in the cancer response.
The summit also aims to commit to a joint action plan and define a results accountability framework for cancer prevention and control in Kenya.
Key topics expected to dominate the event include cancer and risk factors, the impact of the cost of cancer on households and private sector collaborations with the government to deliver on the Vision 2030 agenda.
Cervical and breast cancers contribute to almost a quarter (23 per cent) of all cancer-related deaths in the country.
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According to the National Cancer Institute CEO Alfred Karagu, five cancers, namely breast, cervical, prostate, esophagus and non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma, account for nearly half (48 per cent) of the cancer burden in the country.
Currently, two out of every three persons diagnosed with cancer will die of the disease since 70 per cent of cases are diagnosed in advanced stages, when a cure is impossible.
“Less than 25 per cent of facilities can provide services for screening, early diagnosis and treatment,” Karagu said.