NTV journalist John Kibera Otanga has made a public appeal for medical funds to help him fly to India for treatment.
According to the report shared by some of his colleagues such as Jane Ngoiri, Seth Olale and Zeynab Ismail, Otanga has been battling blood cancer for over 10 years.
“Over the last couple of years, my situation has taken a turn for the worse. I am thereby appealing to you to kindly help me raise Ksh4 million so that I can go to India for further treatment,” Otanga’s request read.
Otangas colleagues have come out to support and help raise funds by contributing and sharing his poster online.
Blood cancers occur when abnormal blood cells start growing out of control, interrupting the function of normal blood cells, which fight off infection and produce new blood cells.
Cancer is the third-leading cause of mortality in Kenya, resulting in unique challenges to the country’s health system.
An increase in the number of cancer cases in Kenya over the past decade resulted in legislative actions and policies to guide the delivery of cancer services.
Kenya’s cancer policies have been guided and progress has been made in providing the legal and implementation frameworks for the development and delivery of cancer services at the national and county levels.
"Ways in which the government can intervene include addressing the financial barriers affecting cancer testing and treatment services; increasing stakeholder engagement in training health personnel to deliver cancer testing and treatment services; decentralising cancer services and improving cancer surveillance and research; and increasing education and awareness about cancer symptoms, screening procedures and treatment options," reads a report by doctors Louise Kathini Makau-Barasa, Sandra Greene, N. A. Othieno-Abinya, Stephanie B. Wheeler, Ashley Skinner and Antonia V. Bennett.
However, some policy implementation gaps can be noted, including inadequate financing for cancer services, limited research and data to support policy formulation, and the concentration of cancer services in urban areas.
The cancer menace has robbed the country of thousands of Kenyans among them prominent and influential figures like Bob Collymore, Ken Okoth and Anjlee Gadhvi.
According to data by the National Institutes of Health in America, Kenya records 28,000 new cases every year with an annual mortality of 22,000 cases.
