When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kenya in July, he promised that the Indian Government was going to make a donation of a 300 million shillings’ cancer therapy machine to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). As a way of keeping the promise, it has been confirmed that the machine will be arriving by the end of this month.
Starting December 2016, the cancer machine will have been installed and operational at KNH, according to the Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya Rajesh Swami. This machine is expected to boost performance on cancer patients at the referral hospital which receives the largest number of cancer patients thus leading to frequent breakdowns of the existing machines once in a while.
The Indian Prime Minister also signed a multi-billion deal between Kenya and India during his visit to build the largest cancer hospital in East Africa at KNH next year. This is for the purposes of reducing congestion at KNH which is known to offer specialized treatment.
Kenya reports 40,000 new cancer cases every year. Cancer is the third leading killer disease in Kenya after Pneumonia and Malaria, according to the 2016 Economic Survey.
According to the Kenya Cancer Statistics and National Strategies, Cancer takes the third positions as the highest cause of mobility in Kenya, causing 7 percent of deaths every year, after infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases. There are an estimated 39,000 new cases of cancer each year with more than 27,000 deaths per year.
The report further reported that a total of 60 percent of those affected by cancer in Kenya tend to be below 70 years old. The leading cancers include Breast Cancer, Cervical cancer, Prostate Cancer and Esophageal Cancer. Out of these types, 70-80 percent of cancer cases are always diagnosed in their late stages due to lack of awareness, inadequate diagnostic facilities, lack of treatment facilities, high cost of treatment and high poverty index.
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