The World Health Organisation,WHO has advised African countries to integrate cancer services including pain relief, and other benefit packages in health insurance schemes.
The WHO Regional Director Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, gave the advice in a message to commemorate the year 2021 World Cancer Day.
She said that ”the integration is to enable African countries to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).”
According to Dr Moeti, “looking ahead, the rising cancer burden will place additional pressures on resource-constrained health systems and on patients and their families who incur catastrophic costs to access services.
“As countries work towards achieving universal health coverage with WHO’s support, provision of cancer services, including pain relief, should be integrated in benefits packages and social insurance schemes.”
Capacity building
She further reiterated that: “To strengthen cancer services, capacity building is needed of health workers at the district level, along with implementation of a comprehensive surveillance system, and investment in digital innovations to improve cancer care.
“We all have a role to play in reducing stigma around cancer, improving understanding of this disease and encouraging people to seek early screening and care.”
The WHO Director lamented that in many communities in African countries, people have limited access to cancer screening and early detection, diagnosis and treatment.
“For example, only about 30% of African children diagnosed with cancer survive, compared to 80% of children in high-income economies. Challenges in access to cancer care are further compounded in times of crisis, like the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“The African Region also bears the highest burden of cervical cancer among WHO regions, and so the World Health Assembly’s adoption in 2020 of the Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem was of key relevance to African countries,” she said.
Dr Moeti further called for an increase in the introduction of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in order to prevent cervical cancer.
World Cancer Day is commemorated every February 4.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
