AUG 29 – Corporates have been urged to support the fight against children cancer by supporting fundraising efforts for early identification and treatment.
Speaking at a charity bowling tournament held by the Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital and Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation, Dr. Robert Nyarango, the Gertrude’s Hospital CEO, said that early diagnosis is the key to helping reduce cancer-related deaths among children.
“Children in high-income countries have a survival chance of 80% when diagnosed with cancer, yet only about 20% of those diagnosed in Kenya will survive. The main difference is that we have a big gap in infrastructure and capacity to diagnose and treat cancer among children. We need to strengthen these capacities to ensure we give our children, even those with cancer, the best chance at living long, healthy lives,” said Dr. Nyarango.
According to the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN), there are at least 3,200 confirmed cases of cancer reported in Kenya each year, but experts believe that many more go undetected due to underdiagnosis and underreporting.
To help deal with the challenge, Gertrude’s Hospital and the Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation spearheaded the Kenya National Childhood Cancer Program in 2019 to advance diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and capacity building for healthcare workers to detect and deal with paediatric cancer.
“It is important for us to mobilise resources from all quarters, especially from corporates, to beef up efforts to diagnose and treat the thousands of children who are afflicted by cancer. The disease can easily wreak havoc on families, and we need a widespread approach to fighting it. Through the Kenya Childhood Cancer Program, we have screened, diagnosed and treated hundreds of patients across the country, and trained more than 200 healthcare workers across the country,” said Dr. Carole Waweru, Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation Manager.
Held on Friday 23 August, the charity bowling tournament is among other activities that include an annual cancer walk as well as an annual golf tournament aimed at raising funds for the cancer program.
The event attracted participation from several organisations, including AM Communications Ltd, ICEA Lion Group,Transpharma Healthcare Limited, Cup of Uji, Dr. Lessan’s Clinic, Village Market, Unga Limited, Maruti Office Supplies Limited, Labulax Supplies Limited, Travotech Agencies Limited, Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, and Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation.
The tournament, organised in partnership with Village Market and Village Bowl, will return for a second edition in December 2024 and is expected to attract more participating companies.
