July 25, 2013

Afya Bora from our resp countries

Just like Mary had posted earlier, as we worked with our clients , Ministry of Health , and understood the structure of the entire Kenyan health system, we were both amazed, delighted and also gained a new respect at the way it functions with the number of constraints around.

Our team, as Mary has also called the best team, comprising Scott, Mary, Ulla and myself, was given the following focus areas to look at
1. Improving data management and reporting for cervical cancer screening & treatment, 
2. Scaling up cervical cancer prevention (HPV vaccination) program and 
3. Establishing a national cancer registry approach

Cancer is fast becoming a major focus area for the African continent, based on estimates from WHO and other organizations.

There are a number of prevalent cancers which are on the rise as non-communicable diseases.
The leading ones are cervical and breast cancers.






Cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer related deaths in women of reproductive age in Kenya. 
 



In 2010, over 10 million women (15 years and older) are at risk based on WHO estimates.
Over 2,400 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 1,600 died from the disease (over 80% mortality).
By 2025, WHO forecasts over 4,000 women will be diagnosed with almost 2,955 deaths from cervical cancer (over 83% mortality)




Hence, it becomes imperative for cervical cancer screening to be done at the earliest.
South Africa and Zambia are among the leading countries for cervical cancer screening. Kenya is now focussed on screening for cervical cancer, hence, the emphasis of our project.

Another important aspect that comes to the fore is the area of having a national cancer registry. This is already earmarked in the National cancer strategy and expected to be a reality by 2015-16.

Our overall recommendations were in the line of implementation of measures for enhancement, distribution and printing of tools, enhancing facility data management capabilities, modifying existing systems incl DHIS, developing a data management framework, among others.

For the national cancer registry , the team recommended developing an advocacy program, focus on skilled registry personnel, leveraging existing models and adoption of technology.

Finally, as Kenya embarks on this journey, all we say from our resp countries is Afya Bora and wishing all the very best!

#ibmcsc kenya

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