Health and Social Welfare minister Seif Rashid and Her Highness Princess
Zahra Aga Khan, who heads the Aga Khan Development Network’s Social
Welfare Department, cut the ribbon to open a suite for cancer patients
at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
In Summary
Dr Rashid also commended the hospital for pledging to work closely with the Ocean Road Cancer Institute.
Dar es Salaam. The Aga Khan
Hospital, Dar es Salaam, yesterday launched a multi-billion-shilling
cancer treatment programme as part of the institution’s efforts to offer
high-value and more specialised services in the country.
The Oncology Programme, which is part of the Sh130 billion Phase II expansion of the Aga Khan Hospital, will provide cancer screening and treatment. There are an estimated 44,000 new cancer cases in the country every year, but only about 4,000 patients go to hospital for screening and treatment.
Health and Social Welfare minister Seif Rashid and Her Highness Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who represented the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), jointly launched the Oncology Programme.
The oncology clinic at the Aga Khan Hospital will offer a wide range of services related to cancer screening, treatment and palliative care.
Speaking during the launch, Dr Rashid underscored the importance of supporting and partnering with private health care investors in delivering the government’s health care objectives.
“I am pleased that the hospital has also significantly invested in enhancing its surgical resources to effectively carry out much needed cancer surgery,” he said.
He added that the hospital’s plans to employ nuclear medicine and the use of an ultra-modern CT scanner would be an important step in the fight against cancer through early detection.
Dr Rashid also commended the hospital for pledging to work closely with the Ocean Road Cancer Institute.
“The collaboration will provide a platform to share knowledge, experience and skills among health workers to ensure the best care for patients,” he said, noting that this was a good example of public-private partnership.
The Aga Khan Ontology Programme was described as “one of the most comprehensive of any private sector health care oncology programmes in Tanzania”.
The ongoing Phase II expansion is the largest ever carried out by the hospital since it was opened in 1964 and the single largest private sector investment in health care in Tanzania.
Princess Zahra, daughter of His Highness the Aga Khan, said the aim of AKDN was to ensure the availability of the best and affordable health services in Tanzania, including the treatment of cancer, which is on the rise in the country.
She said the Aga Khan Hospital would add 30 more cancer centres in five years across Tanzania with the aim of reaching as many people as possible.
The Aga Khan cancer clinic, which was opened last December, has treated over 50 cancer cases through chemotherapy and surgery.
Princess Zahra said the Oncology Programme was the first to be introduced as part of the hospital’s Phase II expansion.
“This phase of expansion will see the development of comprehensive programmes in cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, critical care, maternal and child health and advanced diagnostics,” she said.
Once complete, the hospital’s expansion will provide an opportunity for capacity building and additional recruitment, resulting in a total staff complement of over 800 healthcare and other professionals who will be responsible for providing much needed and high-end clinical services.
According to the Tanzanian Cancer Registry, which records all histological confirmed malignant tumours, the number of reported cancer cases has increased significantly over the past three decades.
The most commonly diagnosed types are cancer of the cervix, skin and liver and Kaposi’s sarcoma and Burkitt’s lymphoma.
Environmental factors appear to have a major role in the distribution.
Through elimination of these factors, cancer in Tanzania could be reduced if not totally prevented. Contributing factors include lifestyle, exposure to radiation, pollution, smoking and alcoholism.
Cancer is curable with early detection. If people are well informed and get early treatment, fatalities will be highly reduced.
The Director of Research and Cancer Control at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dr Julius Mwaiselage, said cancer incidence was increasing at an alarming rate.
“The challenge is resources because the average cost of treating a cancer patient is about Sh3 million,” he said.
The Aga Khan Health Institute was established in Tanzania in 1964 as a private institution whose key objective was to support the health sector in Tanzania.
The institute is part of an expanded health network comprising nine hospitals and 325 health centres in eight countries. In Tanzania , it operates one hospital and six health centres.
The Oncology Programme, which is part of the Sh130 billion Phase II expansion of the Aga Khan Hospital, will provide cancer screening and treatment. There are an estimated 44,000 new cancer cases in the country every year, but only about 4,000 patients go to hospital for screening and treatment.
Health and Social Welfare minister Seif Rashid and Her Highness Princess Zahra Aga Khan, who represented the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), jointly launched the Oncology Programme.
The oncology clinic at the Aga Khan Hospital will offer a wide range of services related to cancer screening, treatment and palliative care.
Speaking during the launch, Dr Rashid underscored the importance of supporting and partnering with private health care investors in delivering the government’s health care objectives.
“I am pleased that the hospital has also significantly invested in enhancing its surgical resources to effectively carry out much needed cancer surgery,” he said.
He added that the hospital’s plans to employ nuclear medicine and the use of an ultra-modern CT scanner would be an important step in the fight against cancer through early detection.
Dr Rashid also commended the hospital for pledging to work closely with the Ocean Road Cancer Institute.
“The collaboration will provide a platform to share knowledge, experience and skills among health workers to ensure the best care for patients,” he said, noting that this was a good example of public-private partnership.
The Aga Khan Ontology Programme was described as “one of the most comprehensive of any private sector health care oncology programmes in Tanzania”.
The ongoing Phase II expansion is the largest ever carried out by the hospital since it was opened in 1964 and the single largest private sector investment in health care in Tanzania.
Princess Zahra, daughter of His Highness the Aga Khan, said the aim of AKDN was to ensure the availability of the best and affordable health services in Tanzania, including the treatment of cancer, which is on the rise in the country.
She said the Aga Khan Hospital would add 30 more cancer centres in five years across Tanzania with the aim of reaching as many people as possible.
The Aga Khan cancer clinic, which was opened last December, has treated over 50 cancer cases through chemotherapy and surgery.
Princess Zahra said the Oncology Programme was the first to be introduced as part of the hospital’s Phase II expansion.
“This phase of expansion will see the development of comprehensive programmes in cardiology, oncology, neurosciences, critical care, maternal and child health and advanced diagnostics,” she said.
Once complete, the hospital’s expansion will provide an opportunity for capacity building and additional recruitment, resulting in a total staff complement of over 800 healthcare and other professionals who will be responsible for providing much needed and high-end clinical services.
According to the Tanzanian Cancer Registry, which records all histological confirmed malignant tumours, the number of reported cancer cases has increased significantly over the past three decades.
The most commonly diagnosed types are cancer of the cervix, skin and liver and Kaposi’s sarcoma and Burkitt’s lymphoma.
Environmental factors appear to have a major role in the distribution.
Through elimination of these factors, cancer in Tanzania could be reduced if not totally prevented. Contributing factors include lifestyle, exposure to radiation, pollution, smoking and alcoholism.
Cancer is curable with early detection. If people are well informed and get early treatment, fatalities will be highly reduced.
The Director of Research and Cancer Control at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dr Julius Mwaiselage, said cancer incidence was increasing at an alarming rate.
“The challenge is resources because the average cost of treating a cancer patient is about Sh3 million,” he said.
The Aga Khan Health Institute was established in Tanzania in 1964 as a private institution whose key objective was to support the health sector in Tanzania.
The institute is part of an expanded health network comprising nine hospitals and 325 health centres in eight countries. In Tanzania , it operates one hospital and six health centres.
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