Govt for joint battle against childhood cancer

Health authorities are calling for concerted efforts in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer in the country.

The remarks are coming as Malawi joins the rest of the world in commemorating Childhood Cancer Day under the theme: ‘Unveiling Challenges’.

Spokesperson for the ministry of health Adrian Chikumbe stresses that the disease can be cured when diagnosed early and proper treatment can be given.

“We would like to detect cancer in the earliest time possible for it to be managed easily but because we have very few cancer specialists, this is not possible as we would have wanted,” explained Chikumbe.

Also weighing in his views on the day is Cancer Survivors Quest founder who is also a survivor of childhood cancer, Chikhulupiliro Ng’ombe, who explained that childhood cancer is not given the much-needed attention compared to other types of cancers.

“Some of us are childhood cancer survivors so we celebrate the day as we look back and see how many friends we have lost, So, it’s also time to reflect on the future as to where are we going and I believe this is a winnable battle,” explained Ngómbe.

A ministry of health report shows that Malawi registers 500 new cases of childhood cancer annually; representing 50 percent of cases that the country should be able to detect.

Childhood cancer, as the name implies, affects children with the common types being Leukaemia, Retinoblastoma, Neuroblastoma and Lymphoma.

World Health Organisation reports that: “Globally, more than 1000 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Recent medical advances make for very high chances of survival in high-income countries, where more than 80% of children diagnosed with cancer will survive. Yet only about 20% of children diagnosed with cancer will survive in some low- and middle-income countries.”