Petition for free cancer treatment being considered by MPs

Kenya: A petition seeking to compel the government to provide free cancer treatment and diagnosis for Kenyans is finally being considered by the National Assembly.

The petition, tabled into the house by Majority Leader Aden Duale, is now being considered by the National Assembly's Health Committee, where it was referred to by the House.

The petition has been prepared by Solomon Mburung'a, whose wife is a cancer survivor, and will be debated by MPs once the Health committee has conducted hearings about it and prepared a report.

The petitioner wants the changes to be made to the Cancer Prevention and Control Act (2012) to compel the State to provide free treatment to cancer patients similar to other killer diseases such as HIV and Malaria.

Mr Mburung'a said that since his wife was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, they have spent at least Sh7 million in treatment, a figure he said is unaffordable to many Kenyans.

Persons with disabilities

The petition also calls for the categorisation of all cancer patients and survivors as persons with disabilities with a view to exempting them from paying income tax in line with the Persons with Disabilities Act.

Currently many cancer patients have to wait for at least two years to receive subsidised treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital, the only public facility in the country that provides the services.

Treatment in private facilities is largely unaffordable to the vast majority of Kenyans. This scenario has been blamed for the high number of cancer deaths in Kenya.

In addition, the petition seeks free artificial limbs and breasts for those who have lost those body parts due to cancer. It also demands parliament to outlaw all forms of discrimination and stigmatisation of cancer patients in the public space and media.

Cancer education

The petitioner wants cancer education to be introduced in the curricular of secondary schools and tertiary education institutions as a way of increasing awareness on the killer disease

Kenya Medical Association National Chairperson Dr Elly Nyaim called on the government to devote more resources and attention to combating cancer by enhancing diagnosis, treatment and raising awareness about the disease.

"More efforts are needed to bring down the high costs of treating cancer to reduce the high number of deaths among Kenyans who cannot afford such costs," he said.

According to the Health Ministry's National Guidelines for the Management of Cancer, the disease ranks third as the leading cause of death after infectious and cardiovascular conditions.

In Kenya, it is estimated that the annual incidence of cancer is about 28,000 new cases with an annual deaths of 22,000 cases.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said recently that the figures of new cases and deaths could be far higher than the official estimates since many cases remain unreported.