Childhood Cancer; A Neglected Tropical Non-Communicable Disease

The month of February is worldly acclaim as the month of love. It is also the month the World Health Organization and it's allied bodies have set aside to mark the global challenge cancer poses. The 6th of February was marked as World Cancer Day with the world health body highlighting the menance of cancer, the determinants and distributions and efforts that have been made over the years to tackle the canker.

Yesterday, 15th February is set aside as International Childhood Cancer day. The day is celebrated to highlight the need for concerted efforts to tackle the challenge this non-communicable disease poses. Globally, cancer is threatening to overtake infectious diseases as one of the most leading cause of disease-related mortality in children. There is therefore the need to work assidouosly to advance the diagnoses, cures and treatment of childhood cancer and make it a national and global priority. It is estimated by International Agency for Research on Cancers, 2015, that the worldwide incidence of childhood cancer is increasing, from 165,000 new cases annually to 215,000 cases for children 14 years and younger and 85,000 new cases for 15-19 year-olds. It is now known that a child is diagnosed of cancer every 2minutes. Even though the situation is much less than in adult, survival rates are higher in children.

It is therefore critical to examine the situation in Ghana where there leaves much to be done in the health delivery system of the country. It is sad to say cancer in the tropics may soon be viewed as a Neglected Tropical Non-Communicable Disease because of the little highlights and efforts put as combative measures. It is still a huge challenge estimating the number of childhood cancers, and cancers in general in the Ghanaian population. With two hospital based cancer registries recently converted into Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCR), we are still unable to define the growing incidence of cancers as the global trend indicates. Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) are scarce systems within the sub-saharan African region except in the Gambia and few other countries. This system when probably developed can provide detail information on the distribution and determinants of various cancers and hence means to tackling the challenge. It is worth talk about the efforts that were made in 2012 to develop a National Cancer policy which is currently gathering dust at the ministry of health.

The diagnostic capacity of most health facilities in the country are bizzarous. It is sad to say that Medicine in Ghana is still being practiced like an 18th century one. In most of the districts and some regional health centers , medical diagnosis are limited and the physicians give medication without really ascertaining patients conditions. Across the 10 regions of the country, there is a limited number of laboratories with the capacity to perform histological diagnosis; Korle Bu, 37Military, Komfo Anokye and Tamale Teaching Hospitals among a few other private facilities. With the global threat of cancers, much needs to be done in building a firm system that would secure the future of many young people who are suffering from cancers.

In many developed countries, there is ongoing active research in cancer and it's related conditions. This is tailored towards unraveling the mechanism of the disease and presenting treatment. The discovery of cancer drugs such as palbociclib and ribociclib and breakthroughs in Gene therapy are leading to the increase in the survival figures for cancer subjects in these countries. How much has Ghana and he subregion committed to cancer research and drug discovery? That is definitely a question for another. One may be wondering with even the cancer drugs that are available in the market, are they being made available and affordable so that cancer conditions can be managed? Despite the availability of a national health insurance policy and an attempt at increasing cancer awareness, the policy does not cover cancer diagnosis and treatment except to say some drugs for breast and cervical cancers. Childhood cancers have been swept under the carpet and no policy exists to cater for these young ones. According to the Childhood Cancer International, Childhood cancers are often curable but too many children and adolescents have no hope to overcome their disease simply because they were born in a country entrenched in poverty resulting in late diagnosis, lack of access to life-saving essential medicines and appropriate treatment.

As the world marks international childhood cancer day, it is incumbent of governments within the subregion to recognise the advancement and care for childhood cancers as a right much as access to good health is a right. It is my belief just as many would do that the basic rights for all children diagnosed with cancer should include

The right to early and proper diagnosis;
The right to access life-saving essential medicines;

The right to appropriate and quality medical treatments, and;

The right to have access to sufficient palliative care;

The right to follow up care, services and sustainable livelihood opportunities for survivors.

The health needs of children with cancers can be attained when diagnostic facilities are empowered with the capacities to diagnose the disease early. There is the need to take a look at the implementation of the five year strategic national cancer policy of 2012. Investment would be made at the establishment of a national cancer center that would be mandated to among other things build a national cancer registry, strengthen cancer research capacity and invest on the discovery of cancer drugs from our many herbs that nature has gifted us.

All children in the world deserve hope for a cure irrespective of where they live or come from. Children are the future of our country and our world. Their vitality is the heartbeat of our world, a shared passion that can unite us because our future as a country depends on it.

The time to act is now. There can be no more "but".

Writer:
Maxwell Akonde, MLS(AHPC-G)
Medical Advocate, Patient Safety Advocacy Africa
Email: [email protected]