Why Africa must unite in fight against cancer

Stethoscope and pink ribbon for breast cancer on white background. [File, Standard]

The ideology of Pan-Africanism has known many faces over its years of existence. At its inception by Henry Sylvester-Williams more than 100 years ago, it was centred on the political independence and unity of continental Africa.During the Cold War, Pan-Africanism became closely aligned with the socialism of the Soviet Union, with discourse focused on anti-imperialism.

While this went hand in hand with the anti-colonialist struggle, the alignment was also deeply marked by the bi-polar international order of that time.Yet, the idea of pan-Africanism is stronger than any single geo-political order. It didn’t dissolve like the Soviet Union in 1992. Instead, it became clearer and more focused, dropping its socialist baggage and homing in on its true goal - a stronger Africa.