Radiotherapy Hub Idle Despite Soaring Cancer Rates in Continent

A modern oncology clinic in Tanzania, donated by the Indian government, is currently lying idle due to a lack of funds, and staff.

The oncology wing was intended as a regional hub for cancer treatment, and also includes a number of bunkers for the safe storage of radioactive material. The leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Tanzania is cervical cancer and currently most women are diagnosed only at an advanced stage leading to a mortality rate as high as 44%.

Equipment at the clinic that is part of the Bugando tertiary care and teaching hospital includes a cobalt-60 radiotherapy radiotherapy device, linear accelerators, and a cryotherapy machine. According to local doctors and health workers, the acute rise in cancer cases may be related to environmental changes, high HIV rates, poor health education, improved diagnostics and the increased lifespan of the population.

Dr. Nestory Masalu, a medical oncologist who helped set up the oncology wing in 2009, intends to extend the cancer treatment program when it is up and running, construct a 120-bed cancer ward, and train additional oncology staff.

CEO of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a US-based non-profit, Celina Schocken, commenting about the incidence of cervical cancer in Tanzania, said, “This disease is killing more women than die in childbirth. It has an incredibly high disease burden and gets very little donor funding.”