Following the public outcry on cancer that was occasioned by the quick-fire deaths of Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso and Kibra MP Ken Okoth, the government has announced its next course of action.
Health CS Sicily Kariuki on Wednesday afternoon officially inaugurated the board of directors for the National Cancer Institute at her Afya House office in Nairobi.
Inaugurated the Board of Trustees for the National Cancer Institute of Kenya today. Cardiovascular diseases are second leading causes of death accounting for 13% of all deaths while cancer is 3rd contributing to 7% of deaths. pic.twitter.com/N8yHa8tNxl
— CS Sicily K. Kariuki (EGH) (@SicilyKariuki) July 31, 2019
The Board will among others coordinate prevention and affordable management of cancer from the community level and receive related input from stakeholders on the best practices to reduce cases of cancer.
At the same time, the CS announced that Kenyans will now be able to access chemotherapy treatment in 7 county referral hospitals. Three more are expected to start offering chemotherapy in September.
“Kenyans are now able to access chemotherapy in 7 county referral hospitals – Mombasa, Kisumu, Kakamega, Garissa, Nyeri, Nakuru & Meru.
“Three more hospitals namely: Embu, Bomet & Machakos are set to start offering chemotherapy services in September this year,” the CS announced.
Sicily Kariuki also noted that Kenya’s capacity to detect cancer has improved.
“Kenya’s capacity to detect cancer has significantly improved. As estimated 47,887 new cases of cancer are detected, 3,200 among children below 18 and 32,987 people die annually. The 5 most common cancers are Breast, Cervical, Oesophageal, Prostate and Colorectal cancer,” she said.
“Cancer & other Noncommunicable diseases are a threat to public health. Cardiovascular diseases are the second leading cause of death after infectious illnesses accounting for 13% of all deaths while cancer is the third leading cause of death contributing to 7% of deaths.”
