Dar es Salaam's Cutting-edge Cancer Centre Aims to Accommodate 100 Patients Daily

Posted on : Tuesday , 7th May 2024

Longer lifespans are associated with higher cancer incidence. East Africa is seeing rising cancer rates due to a number of factors, including a move away from traditional, protective diets and pollutants in the food, water, and air.

Over the past four years, the Tanzania Comprehensive Cancer Project (TCCP) has attempted to make improvements in this regard. Through a collaboration between the Institut Curie, the Government of Tanzania, the Bugando Medical Center, the Agence Française de Développement, the Bugando Medical Center, the Ocean Road Cancer Institute, and AKDN, the TCCP has assisted 100 public primary healthcare facilities in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza in enhancing their oncology services.

The initiative assisted in the distribution of the human papillomavirus vaccine to more than 5,000 students, thereby preventing cervical cancer. After completing 673,000 screenings and educating about 4.5 million individuals on identifying signs, approximately 28% of patients were sent for treatment at an early stage of cancer, up from 15% in 2020. 400 doctors and nurses as well as more than 450 community health workers have received training. Hospitals now have equipment, including four new radiation units.

In the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam, a new cancer center has also been established as a result of the TCCP. With 100 patients a day for radiation therapy, chemotherapy, screening, and immunization services, the center will shorten wait periods and assist in covering treatment expenses for many people who would not otherwise be able to afford it. State-of-the-art care will be made possible by devices that can do high-precision radiation and 3D imaging.

"Our specialists will offer top-notch, research-based services," says hospital Medical Director Dr. Harrison Chuwa. "The Center provides molecular pathology in addition to anatomical pathology, enabling us to profile cancers and provide opportunities for immunotherapy and targeted therapies." Our radiation oncology department will provide extremely cutting-edge procedures that are the first of their kind in the nation, and we are expanding our surgical oncology program.

On behalf of Tanzania's President, Hon. Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of the United Republic of Tanzania, expressed gratitude and acknowledged AKDN's extensive effort in the nation during the opening of the Cancer Care Center.

“Your decision to build a cancer treatment centre is another testament to your efforts, and this contribution to our country is truly commendable. We thank you very much,” he said.

Princess Zahra Aga Khan, serving as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS), addressed attendees during the inauguration ceremony.

“Today, to see this incredible tertiary investment in Dar es Salaam is a testament not only to the progress that Tanzania is making in health care, progress that AKDN, Aga Khan Health Services, and Aga Khan University are causing to happen, in the countries where we work, but also to the vision of [the AKDN health] system to be able to provide health care to millions at the primary level, but also provide advances to this level of care, where we're really seeing the height of technology in health care,” she said, expressing her appreciation to everyone involved.