CASEC Information Exchange

The WHO warns that the cancer burden is getting worse with low income countries being hit the hardest. Currently 70 % of cancer’s 8 million deaths occur in low income countries.

There are projections that without appropriate and aggressive action, within a few years cancer will likely be the dominant health issue in Africa.

Headline data presented at the World Cancer Congress in December 2014 states that “Low-income countries – where services are least developed, facilities largely absent and trained cancer experts few – will need support from the international community to build capacity, a process that is likely to take a decade or more.”

We must position ourselves now to optimize partnerships, take full advantage of the wide resources available and actively explore opportunities for collaborations and capacity building between Africa and the west.