Lt. Col. Dr. Pacifique MUGENZI

It is time up to inspire action and take action against cancer today for all Rwandans and the generations to come. Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH) Kanombe, Kigali, built in 1968 as a military referral hospital, has continued to provide health care services to the military and their immediate families, not forgetting the rest of Rwandans out of this circle. Like it does to various diseases, the fully fledged referral hospital has contributed a lot in the efforts to create awareness, prevent and treat various kinds of cancer that greatly affect Rwandans today. 

Why World Cancer Day

The world Cancer Day 2016, marked with the tagline "We Can, I Can", is celebrated Thursday 4th February. While comprehending this year's theme, the day is meant to explore how everyone can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer collectively or as an individual. Theme reflects that no matter what one opts to do, 'we all can and I can'. "The World Cancer Day is an opportunity to reflect on the issues of cancer and the extent at which it affects the people of Rwanda today," says Lt. Col. Dr. Pacifique Mugenzi, Radiation Oncologist at RMH. The day is very significant as people convey the message of commitment, love, and strength and hope to prevent and cure cancer.

The key message here is that people need to inspire action and also, take action, make health lifestyle, prevent the plegue, understand early detection to save life, improve access to cancer care, work together for increased impact and speak out, to mention but a few. 

Forms of cancer in Rwanda

There several different types of cancer affecting both male and female Rwandans today. These include breast cervical cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, cancer of the liver and head & neck cancer and a few case of lung cancer. "Cervical cancer is one of the most common affecting women today," says Dr. Mugenzi. The Government of Rwanda has set an ambitious goal to eradicate the disease through intensive awareness measures and immu-nization for all adolescent girls against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the virus which is responsible for almost all cervical cancer. Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that Rwanda has so far vaccinated 227,246 girls with all three doses of the human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, counting 2015.

Strategies to fight cancer

The Ministry of health plans to have national cancer planner clearly focusing on awareness, early screening, diagnosis treatment and care," says Lt. Col. Mugenzi. However, the strategy should not only focus on avoidance of risk factors but also invest in cancer control and mobilize networks to drive progress.

Challenges and the future

"Much has been done and reached by the government and the Health Ministry but as far as the destination is concerned, we are not yet there, " he says. Rwanda still lacks human capacity and infrastructure.

The Ministry is however focusing much on awareness, screening and emphasizing the multi disciplinary approach which calls for collaboration among specialists. The ministry of health plans to engage all districts in cancer management. There is also much hope to improve the infrastructure especially when the government is putting much effort and intending to avail radiotherapy services in the near future.