By Hassan Zaggi
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concern over increasing cases of childhood cancer in Africa.
In a statement to mark the 2023 World Cancer Day, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said that childhood cancer incidence in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at 56.3 per million population.
“Current projections show that Africa will account for nearly 50% of the global childhood cancer burden by 2050, compelling expeditious efforts to confront this concern, as was done for the young girl from Rwanda,” she stressed.
While expressing concern over the rising cases of cancer, Dr. Moeti disclosed that approximately, 1.1 million new cancer cases occur each year in Africa, with about 700,000 deaths.
According to her, data estimates show a considerable increase in cancer mortality to nearly one million deaths per year by 2030, without urgent and bold interventions.
“We should recall that the most common cancers in adults include breast (16.5%), cervical (13.1%), prostate (9.4%), Colorectal (6%), and liver (4.6%) cancers, contributing to nearly half of the new cancer cases,” the statement noted.
She revealed that some achievements, have however, been recorded in the region. Some of them, according to her, include 12 countries in the region that have valid National Cancer Control Plans.
“WHO is supporting 11 additional countries in developing or updating their National Cancer Control Plans aligned to the global cancer initiatives coupled with the presence of governance structures at the government level to implement Cancer Plans.
“Countries such as Ghana, Senegal, Zambia, and Senegal have developed National Treatment Guidelines for childhood cancer.
“Twenty-five countries have developed and are using Cancer Guidelines,” she said.
The WHO Regional Director reiterated that political will remains significant in improving the cancer landscape.
“Including childhood cancer medicines in the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana and Zambia is a good example. Such a strategic action will significantly contribute to the increase in survival rates for children with cancer in these countries.
“We are collaborating with Childhood Cancer International to develop and pilot the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support guidelines for children in Burkina Faso.
“It is gratifying to note the steady increase of HPV vaccination national introduction by 51% of countries in the region, although coverage remains concerning
at 21%,” she said.
She disclosed that currently, 16 countries have introduced high-performance-based screening tests in line with WHO recommendations and plan to scale up cervical cancer screening.
