The Minister of Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu has assured that apart from the government’s plans of putting more cancer diseases on the health insurance benefit package in the fight against cancer, it will also role out health promotion and education on the disease that will create the disease awareness among the public.
He said, apart from breast and cervical cancers which are in the health insurance package, the high cost of other cancers treatments amount to the increase in cancer mortality rate in the country, hence the need to roll out good strategic plans on the prevention and treatment of cancers.
The Health minister said in Kumasi on Monday January 22, 2018 in address as the guest speaker during the media briefing and official announcement of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) “C/CAN 2025: City Cancer Challenge “ in Kumasi.
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), a health expert’s body, spearheading the fight against cancer, selected Kumasi to be part of the ‘City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) 2025’ project in Mexico City in 2017.
This makes it the first city in Africa and fourth in the world to become part of the project, which aims at increasing access to quality cancer treatment and reducing cancer mortality rate by 25% by the year 2025.
City Cancer Challenge is a multi-sectoral initiative supporting cities to take centre stage in the design, planning and implementation of cancer treatment solutions.
Kumasi was selected because of its strategic central location, the presence of a Cancer Registry at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, KATH, the treatment of cancer and cancer care also at KATH and the Peace and Love Hospital amongst other factors.
“The fight against the cancer disease cannot be left to the government alone, we will involve the private hospitals and other stakeholders like the Peace and Love Hospitals headed by Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who has established herself as a strong advocate in the fight against the disease and urged other private investors to invest in the health sector because this project will attract foreign investors and is a good opportunity in making profit maximization,” he advice.
The chairman for the occasion, Bantamahene Baffour Owusu Amankwatia VI, who represented the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, commended the Ministry of Health, Ashanti regional Coordinating Council (RCC), Kumasi Metropolitan Authority (KMA), Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and Peace and Love Hospital for bringing such an honor to the city of Kumasi and Ashanti region.
He said the hosting of the project will put Kumasi and Ghana on world medical map, “and the country stands the chance of been flooded with health investors to boost the health delivery in the country,” he added.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) for the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi said the project marked the beginning of ‘war’ against the dreadful disease, and called on other stakeholders to make it a reality.
“This project is not for the RCC, KMA, PLH and KATH alone, it’s for the whole Kumasi and Ghana so we all have to support this project. What I and you can do is it to keep the environment clean so that those (foreigners) people who patronize the facility will always be here and will also lure investors to invest in clean and healthy environment,” he added.
In a presentation on the importance of Kumasi hosting the project, the Medical Director and Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Dr. Baffour Awuah, said it will address the urgent need to move political commitment made at the global level into fully, comprehensive cancer services that reach the majority of the world’s population, therefore having a direct and concrete impact on cancer mortality rates and the target to reduce premature deaths by 2025.
“It will also increase the number of people with access to quality cancer treatment, not only in Kumasi, Ghana, but in Africa and the world at large,’ he added.
Source: otecfmghana.com/ Francis Appiah
