Gender Ministry, Cancer Board To Set Up A Cancer Treatment Support Fund

The Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry and the Ghana Cancer Board have agreed to set up a cancer fund to support the treatment of cancers for the needy, an intervention they said will reduce the impact of cancer in Ghana.

The fund when set up, will provide assistance to people diagnosed with cancer diseases who may not be able to foot their bills, and can be accessed through application facilitated by the patients’ health facilities, the social welfare, patients groups etc.

The agreement was reached when the 16 member Ghana Cancer Board, led by the chairperson, Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Cynthia Morrison at the Ministry on Wednesday.

The meeting was the first since Hon. Cynthia Morrison took over from Hon. Afisa Otico Djaba, who inaugurated the Board in April 2018, with the mandate of designing and implementing advocacy programmes to create awareness on breast, cervical, prostate and childhood cancers.

The Board is also to solicit funding from the public, corporate bodies, development partners and other and indigenous international philanthropists to supplement government’s efforts to curtail the impact of cancer in Ghana.

The meeting by the Board was to update the minister on the activities embarked on 2018 and those to be embarked on in 2019, which includes the celebration of World Cancer Day on February 4th in Kumasi and the 2nd edition of the Independence Day Cancer Quiz competition, 2019.

Hon. Cynthia Morrison addressing the members said the formation of the cancer fund will help reduce impact of cancers in the country as those diagnosed with the will no longer have to die because of lack of money to pay for treatments.

“Breast cancer is very common and number one killer among women so the fund, when set up, will encourage them to report any unusual thing found in the breast for prompt action to be taken. The myth surrounding the disease, such as it is caused by witchcraft and therefore will be treated spiritually will be broken, because of availability of free funds,” the minister confidently said.

She also expressed her appreciation for the good works done by the Cancer Board and pledged her willingness to support the board to achieve the mandate imposed on them.

“I am very optimistic that the board, led by Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, will live up to its mandate to make cancers, especially breast, cervical, prostate and childhood cancers, that have been tormenting the lives of our mothers, husbands, sisters, daughters and loved ones, less traumatic in Ghana,” she said.

The board chairperson, Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, promised to work hard with her team to achieve their set goals.