38 hospitals have crucial machines to save lives
What you need to know:
Dr Nicholas Muraguri asked the NHIF to increase the amount of money it has allocated members for cancer treatment.
The NHIF last month announced it had doubled benefits for inpatient services for its contributors.
Mohamud Ali said there was a cancer package that would cater for chemotherapy at Sh25,000 per session, radiology at Sh18,000 per session and monthly clinics at Sh5,000 per month.
The Health Ministry has installed 38 breast cancer diagnosis machines in 38 hospitals and put up theatres in 20 others.
New Health Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri on Wednesday said the ministry had also set aside Sh300 million in this financial year to buy cobalt cancer equipment, which uses radiation to kill cancer cells. It will also buy 100 cryotherapy machines to treat cervical cancer.
For a disease that causes 27,000 deaths annually, the progress in diagnosing and treating it is “a bit slow”, said the chairperson of the Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations David Makumi.
EARLY DETECTION
“We haven’t moved as fast as we planned to yet cancer does not sit back to wait for us as we find our compass,” he said. It gives hope that Kenyans are becoming aware of cancer and the need for early detection.”
He also urged the National Hospital Insurance Fund to increase the amount of money it has allocated members for cancer treatment.
The NHIF last month announced it had doubled benefits for inpatient services for its contributors.
The Fund Chairman Mohamud Ali said there was a cancer package that would cater for chemotherapy at Sh25,000 per session, radiology at Sh18,000 per session and monthly clinics at Sh5,000 per month.
The World Health Organisation has attributed the rising cancer cases to ageing populations and the increasing adoption of risky behaviour such as consumption of unhealthy diets, lack of physical exercise and harmful use of alcohol and tobacco.
WHO has asked governments to rate movies that portray tobacco use to “prevent children and adolescents from starting to smoke cigarettes and use other forms of tobacco”.
