The Kenyan government, on Wednesday, announced the formation of a select committee to spearhead the country's newfound resolve to battle cancer.
Health Cabinet Secretary, Sicily Kariuki, made the announcement from her office, following a protracted meeting with relevant stakeholders.
"I inaugurated the Board of Trustees for the National Cancer Institute of Kenya today. Cardiovascular diseases are second leading causes of death accounting for 13 percent of all deaths while cancer is 3rd contributing to 7 percent of deaths," the CS disclosed.
The Board is expected to coordinate prevention and ensure affordable management of cancer from the community level.
In addition, Ms Kariuki's new board will be reportedly receiving constant input from various stakeholders, regarding the best practices to reduce cases of cancer.
"Kenya's capacity to detect cancer has significantly improved. As estimated 47,887 new cases of cancer are detected, 3,200 among children below 18 and 32,987 people die annually," Ms Kariuki revealed.
The country has experienced a July to forget, following the untimely demise of three distinguished leaders, former Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, Kibra MP Ken Okoth and Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso.
Cancer was the one thing that tied all three together. a disease which has been on a worryingly upward trajectory in the country.
Reports from the Ministry of Health disclosed that the 5 most common cancers are Breast, Cervical, Oesophageal, Prostate and Colorectal Cancer.
CS Kariuki, with the worrying upsurge of cancer in mind, directed the board to immediately embark on a nation-wide lifestyle modification campaign, that is expected to reach Kenyans across the entire country.
