Kenya is stepping up efforts to improve cancer outcomes by expanding early screening, strengthening local diagnostic capacity and bringing specialised care closer to patients, particularly those in western Kenya who have historically travelled to Nairobi or abroad for treatment.
The initiative, announced during the Nairobi International Cancer Forum, will see Kisumu County work with the Africa Cancer Foundation and international partners to strengthen cancer diagnosis, treatment and healthcare capacity in the region.
Kisumu Governor Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o said inadequate equipment and specialized services have for years forced cancer patients to travel long distances to access care.
“We are trying to deal with that. To bring the capacity inside,” Nyong’o said, noting that patients from Kisumu were previously referred to Nairobi for treatment, while some were eventually forced to seek care abroad.
“In Nairobi, they didn’t even have the equipment. So people ended up going abroad, at a very costly price,” he said.
The partnership includes plans to establish the proposed Chun Jeong-Eun Nyong’o Cancer Centre in Kisumu, aimed at creating additional capacity for cancer diagnosis and treatment in western Kenya.
Jaewon Peter Chun, President and CEO of the World Small Cities Forum and founder of the Africa Small Cities Alliance, said the project was partly inspired by his sister’s 13-year battle with breast cancer before her death.
He said the proposed center would require investment not only in infrastructure but also in healthcare workers, technology and specialized expertise.
“A cancer center requires a lot of resources, not just finance. You need doctors, nurses, engineers, and even finances,” Peter Chun said.
As an immediate step, the partners plan to establish an early cancer screening program, supported by an investment of about US$1 million to establish a laboratory at Victoria Hospital in Kisumu by the end of the year.
“This early cancer screening programmer is part of the number one step,” Peter Chun said.
The programmer is expected to screen more than 100,000 patients initially, with the wider initiative targeting up to 300,000 people over the next four years across Kisumu and surrounding areas.
Peter Chun said the partnership will also support the training of local doctors, nurses and engineers, while mobilizing specialized medical equipment and expertise from South Korea, Singapore and the United States.
Governor Nyong’o said strengthening local capacity is critical to addressing delays in diagnosis and treatment.
He also shared his personal experience with cancer, revealing that he was diagnosed at a late stage and eventually sought treatment in the United States.
His experience, he noted, demonstrated the importance of ensuring that patients can access timely diagnosis and treatment within Kenya rather than being forced to seek expensive care abroad.
However, stakeholders at the forum said improving cancer outcomes will require more than screening and infrastructure.
A cancer survivor who has lived with multiple myeloma for 11 years said the country must also address the high cost of medicines and improve the quality of care offered to patients after diagnosis.
“The cost of medication is so prohibitive,” the survivor said, explaining that family and friends had helped him meet the cost of treatment.
He said some patients have been forced to stop treatment after exhausting their available insurance limits or because they can no longer afford their medication.
The survivor also called for a change in how society and healthcare workers view people living with cancer, stressing that patients continue to have hopes, aspirations and lives beyond their diagnosis.
“We have to remember that we, as patients, are still human beings. We are not just cancer patients. We still have goals, we still have dreams, there’s still so much life to live even with a cancer diagnosis,” he said.
He urged Kenyans to overcome the fear surrounding cancer screening, particularly for cancers where early detection can improve treatment outcomes.
“Don’t be afraid of going to any camps that are out there that will offer testing, especially for those cancers that benefit from early detection,” he said.
The Kisumu initiative comes as stakeholders increasingly emphasize the need to take cancer services beyond major urban centers. By investing in screening, healthcare worker training, equipment and specialized facilities, the partners hope to reduce delays in diagnosis and the financial burden associated with travelling for treatment.
For patients in western Kenya, the planned expansion could mean greater access to cancer services closer to home, while the proposed center could provide a foundation for stronger regional cancer care.
The forum underscored a wider message: improving cancer survival requires early detection, affordable treatment, well-equipped facilities and patient-centered care working together rather than separately.
