Africa Records 1.1 Million New Cancer Cases Yearly, Says WHO

The WHO representative to Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, has revealed that every year, Africa records around 1.1 million new cases of cancer, resulting in up to 700,000 deaths.

He said breast cancer, cervical, prostate, liver and colorectal cancers account for almost half the new cases on the continent annually. Children are also inevitably impacted with 90% of more than 400,000 children diagnosed annually with cancer around the world said to live in low- and middle-income countries.

Also, survival rates are said to be at a very low 20% or less in African countries, compared to more than 80% in developed countries.

Mulombo, however, mentioned that WHO is committed to supporting Nigeria and other countries to implement priority activities towards cancer prevention and control.

He made this known on Tuesday in his message to commemorate the 2022 International Cancer Week, which is celebrated every 1st to 4th November 2022 with the theme for this year tagged “Bridging the Cancer Care Gap: Improving Diagnosis and Multidisciplinary Management”.

According to him: “This is in line with World Cancer Day which was celebrated on the 4th of February to mark the start of a three-year campaign to raise global awareness around cancer and its impacts, especially on our most vulnerable citizens.

“Survival rates are at a very low 20% or less in African countries, compared to more than 80% in developed countries. A renewed effort to curb new cancer cases is urgent; alarming projections are that cancer death rates in Africa will rise exponentially over the next 20 years, exceeding the global average by 30%.

“Common challenges faced in the region include limited access to primary prevention and early detection services, lack of awareness and education in addition to delays in diagnosis and treatment. There is also limited access to palliative care and pain relief. Shortages of specialists in medical and radiation oncology, pathology, medical physics and other essential areas compound the gaps. Africa has only 3% of the world’s cancer treatment facilities, with radiotherapy available in just 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which contributes to poor survival rates.

To “close the care gap”, WHO is supporting many key initiatives in countries. They include the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, and the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancers among others. For example, in the African region, 45% of countries introduced national HPV vaccination programmes to address the cervical cancer threat”, he said.

He acknowledged the Federal Ministry of Health under the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, for its commitment towards cancer prevention and control in Nigeria.