The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states are soon to establish a Regional Cancer Center of Excellence that can provide high quality cancer treatment for the people of the region.
A Resource Mobilization Conference for the establishment of the center was launched on Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Each year an estimated12.7 million people are diagnosed of cancer and 7.9 million lose their lives globally. Cancer is the cause for about 20 percent of deaths in industrialized nations and 5-10 percent in developing countries according to the World Health Organization.
The most common cancer cases in Africa are cervix, breast, liver and prostate but since 2008 new cancer cases and deaths occurred and the numbers are expected to double in 20 years due to the aging and growth of population.
In response to the growing burden of cancer in the region, the IGAD Secretariat has been collaborating over the past few years with several partners including the African Diaspora in North America led by the Ethiopian North American Health Providers Associations (ENAHPA) and the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
The goal of establishing this one-of-a-kind regional centre is to avail high quality cancer services to the people of IGAD member states.
The resource mobilization conference is expected to develop a platform for strengthening collaboration and cooperation to realize the centre’s objectives, as well as draw a regional approach for resource mobilization.
The Regional Cancer Center of Excellence, which will be constructed in Addis Ababa, is expected to be a milestone for future undertakings to tackle the occurrence of the disease.
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