|
|
Africa: Cancer Epidemic Threatening Africa
 |
 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Herald (Harare)
6 August 2007
Posted to the web 6 August 2007
Sifelani Tsiko
Harare
THE forthcoming African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer conference to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, later this month presents an important platform for sharing information and experience to intensify efforts to improve collaboration in cancer education, research and practice in Africa.
The conference, which is scheduled to be held from August 24-28, is coming at a time when cancer rates are rising in Africa and most other developing countries.
It will be held under the theme: "Cancer in Africa -- Challenges and Opportunities" at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The AORTIC says the conference will bring together all levels of health care workers, ranging from doctors in all different specialties to nurses, health activists and NGOs involved in cancer education, research and practice.
There will be sessions on surgical training, colposcopy training, national cancer control programmes and world oncology on prostate, gastro-intestinal, cervical, breast and hematological cancers and HIV.
Colposcopy is a medical procedure to examine the cervix, oncology is the study of tumours (cancerous growths) while hematology refers to a branch of medicine that deals with related diseases, tests and medicines.
Africa still faces numerous challenges in terms of cancer education, research and practice and the treatment of cancer patients.
Africa has less than 100 radiotherapy machines in operation, which experts say fall short of the estimated need.
Radiotherapy services are only available in 21 countries in Africa.
Apart from the costly facilities, there are other challenges on the continent.
Screening, early diagnosis and the uptake of inexpensive drugs is equally important for patients, health experts say.
Health experts say high equipment costs, inadequate infrastructure, lack of qualified personnel and the flight of skilled health personnel has worsened the situation across the whole African continent.
Support for programmes for the care and treatment of cancer patients is still inadequate. Most African countries are still relying from support from international institutions which is now dwindling at a time experts say cancer rates in developing countries are rising.
Lack of adequate resources, drugs and equipment has weakened efforts for the care and treatment of patients on the continent.
Zimbabwe is one of the countries that is battling to raise more than US$1,5 million to buy new radiotherapy machines for cancer treatment at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
Most of the radiotherapy machines are old and constantly break down affecting the care and treatment of cancer patients.
"Our machines have been running for 10 years and have outlived their life span. We are, therefore, looking for US$1,5 million to buy a new machine," Mr Thomas Zigora, the Parirenyatwa Hospital chief executive was quoted as saying.
Some patients who afford were now going to South Africa and Botswana for treatment while the poor were suffering quietly in their homes.
Health experts estimate that more than 5 million new patients require radiation therapy per year worldwide.
They attribute this partly to a rise in life expectancy rates.
The geography of cancer is changing fast and a new cancer epidemic is threatening Africa.
It is no longer a problem of the West. It is now also affecting Africans in the same way it is affecting people in the West.
Health experts say in some parts of Africa, the increased incidence of cancer is a result of economic development and populations that are living longer.
But in others, they say, cancer rates are rising directly as a result of the HIV and Aids pandemic with cancers such as Kaposi sarcoma, tumours which appear under the surface of the skin or on mucous membranes, becoming common.
|
The World Health Organisation estimates that 7,6 million people died of cancer in 2005.
The UN agency says 40 percent of the cases are preventable.
Cancer causes more deaths each year worldwide than HIV/Aids, TB and malaria combined.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
