The Ministry of Health plans to decentralise cancer care services across the country to improve access, affordability, and overall quality of life for patients. This is set to ease pressure at the top three national referral hospitals.
Currently, cancer care is primarily offered at three national referral hospitals, Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital, and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital as well as three regional centers in Garissa, Mombasa, and Nakuru.
To expand accessibility, new regional cancer centers are in the works for Kisumu, Meru, Nyeri, and Kakamega. According to Health CS Deborah Barasa, they are in the final stages of establishing these four additional centers.
Barasa noted that by mid-next year, they expect 70 per cent of them to have transitioned into fully operational cancer treatment hubs.
She said this during the Kenya International Cancer Conference 2024 in Kisumu, which brought together multiple stakeholders to deliberate on cancer prevention, management, and palliative care.
Participants discussed innovative approaches to screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. The conference emphasized the need for improved policies, with the CS urging stakeholders to support policies that enhance early diagnosis and strengthen prevention practices in communities.
Barasa noted that they are looking at how they can subsidised the management of cancer, improve early diagnosis, and strengthen prevention practices within the community.
"We want also to encourage stakeholders, including manufacturers and service providers, to offer subsidized rates for diagnostic tools and treatment to ensure affordability".
She said they are also partnering with organisations to train oncologists, oncology nurses, radiotherapists, and medical physicists to improve workforce capacity.
"We are grateful for the support from international and local training institutions to build capacity for high-quality oncology services in the country."
To promote early detection, CS said the ministry plans to utilise community health promoters.
These individuals will educate communities on cancer screening and prevention, fostering prompt diagnosis and treatment.
“Our goal is to improve health education within communities and ensure early detection to enhance the quality of life for Kenyans,” she noted.
The CS also added that the government is also working on expanding the Social Health Authority benefits for cancer patients. Elias Meli, Chief Executive Officer, National Cancer Institute, Cancer is the third cause of death in the country after infectious and cardiovascular diseases.
In 2022, the annual incidence of cancer was 44,726, while Cancer mortality in 2020, Kenya reported 27,000 cancer-related deaths.
"The statistics are worrying and a major concern to all stakeholders, including those directly and indirectly affected and those who play a role at the policy and implementation level."
Dr. Meli added that they seek to change the statistics, and it's the reason why the national cancer institute exists to coordinate all partners to work together to deliver on this. "
We would really want to see a cancer-free Kenya; that is our vision, and we have recognized that the issue of Kenya is an affair of everyone, and we are using a multi-sectoral approach to address this."
