KUMASI CITY CANCER CHALLENGE INITIATIVE MAKES IMPACT
The Kumasi City Cancer Challenge Initiative, under the auspices of the City Cancer Challenge (C/CAN) Foundation is making giant strides in the fight against cancer diseases in Kumasi and beyond.
Initiated in 2018, the Kumasi City Cancer Initiative which is apparently the first city cancer initiative in Africa has stepped forward in health system and care improvements for patients in and outside the city.
Since inception of the cancer initiative, it has increased chances of survival for childhood cancer patients by bringing timely referrals for suspected cases from 1% to 25%.
Sharing milestone by C/CAN with stakeholders at the C/CAN Achievement Workshop held in Kumasi on Tuesday April 30, 2024, Mr. Abubakari Jaliu, City Manager of Kumasi City Cancer Challenge Initiative stated that, "great strides have been made in improving cancer care and streamlining the patient journey from point of diagnosis to treatment in Kumasi".
He was of the view that, with renewed commitment from local stakeholders coupled with supports from funders, there would be more progress to come in future.
Significantly, the C/CAN have been able to create referral network of 24 institutions, training over 120 health professionals on symptoms awareness and designing a tailor-made app based on the previous paper referral system.
Other laudable achievements were procurement of five teaching microscopes, a retrofitted room, and provision of equipment and training at a Nuclear Medical Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in supporting system-readiness for the operation of specialized SPECT-CT machine.
These among others, he hinted, has made it possible for patients from Burkina Faso and Togo to access reliable healthcare on cancers.
Additionally, he disclosed that, about 45 surgeons have also received training on improved ways of performing cancer surgeries.
As part of its renewed drive and commitment to improve cancer care in Kumasi, the C/CAN has aimed to scale-up interventions across Ghana, with a focus on the management of breast cancer.
To this end, additional projects would be explored based on the unique needs of community and wider programmes across the C/CAN city network. These would include; a system readiness project for access to breast cancer oncology medicines in Ghana, and implementation of recommendations from the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) among other projects.
Also, on the bill of C/CAN to improve cancer care, there would be expansion of the pediatric referral network to include a further 26facilities and training of 200 healthcare workers across Ashanti Region.
Per their plans, there would be a capacity building training on e-learning course on childhood cancer for healthcare workers with the Catalan Institute of Oncology (CIO).
The Chief Executive Officer of C/CAN Foundation, Mrs. Isabel Mestres expressed delight on the cross-sector collaboration between stakeholders which has propelled meaningful changes to health system since inception of the Initiative.
" As we celebrate the remarkable progress made by City of Kumasi, we stand as example when all local stakeholders unite to tackle a complex issue, it can have transformative impact for the city and the people's health", she said.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS) commended C/CAN for their achievements thus far, and promised that the GHS would continue to count on stakeholders to fight cancer and otherhigh prevailing diseases in Ghana.
To him, the fight against cancers was a major concern to theGHS, saying, it was ever ready to collaborate with stakeholders both local andforeign to overcome its rising scare in the country.
The Mayor of Kumasi, Hon. Samuel Pyne also praised C/CAN for their exploit in cancer care in Kumasi.
Again, he commended local stakeholders for their enormous support for the Cancer Initiative, and further praised Project Coordinators for working diligently to complete most of the projects would help to enhance access to equitable and high-quality cancer care.
He therefore, pledged the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly’s commitment to increase the support for the next project implementation in future.