All of us have a part to play in addressing Kenya's rising cancer burden

Moi Teaching and Referral CEO Dr Wilson Aruasa when he led MTRH staff and Civil society groups in procession to mark the World Cancer Day in Eldoret on Saturday February 4, 2023. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Kenya's cancer burden is increasing at an alarming rate. Cancer is now the third leading cause of death amongst adults after infectious and cardiovascular diseases. According to the National Cancer Taskforce Report (2012-2018), the total number of new cancer cases increased from 37,000 to 48,000. In 2022, the task force indicated that 18 per cent of women and 14.3 per cent of men in Kenya are likely to develop cancer before the age of 75.

The World Health Organisation estimates that there are about 400,000 new cases of childhood cancer each year globally, with more than 80 per cent of them in low and middle-income countries like Kenya. The GLOBOCAN Report estimated that there were more than 3,000 new cases of childhood cancer in Kenya in 2020. However, other estimates put the figure between 6,000 and 7,000 cases per year from population statistics. Therefore 50 per cent of children with cancer in Kenya will die without a diagnosis. More than 80 per cent of childhood cancer is curable in high income countries but in our setting, only 30 per cent will survive.