Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) is set to host SIOP Africa Congress from 16th – 18th March 2022 at the Serena Kampala- Hotel.
The event will take place under the theme “Innovate for Africa”.
According to Dr. Orem Jackson, who is the Executive Director at UCI, the congress will encompass all persons involved in the fight against childhood cancer.
Dr. Orem said that, “From health workers, survivors, parents, friend of a survivor, to mere well-wishers, everyone has a role to play in improving childhood cancer care.”
Dr. Orem said that it is important to note that children with cancers in Africa have survival rates as low as 20% and that this can be attributed to several reasons, such as “delayed diagnosis, lack of diagnosis, obstacles to accessing care, treatment abandonment, toxic death, and disease relapse among others.”
Dr. Orem said that one really important concern is that protocols and guidelines prescribed in higher-income countries are often not feasible in many parts of Africa due to resource constraints.
However, amidst all the challenges, Dr. Orem said that there have been some positives with several efforts being made to ensure not every child with cancer dies.
The WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer aims to improve outcomes for children with cancer around the world. According to a report WHO, they aim at improving the survival rates from 20% across Low Income countries to 60% of which many of the African countries fall under.
The 14th Congress will be a hybrid (both physical and virtual) congress that will see doctors, nurses and medical experts from all over Africa and beyond share their different ways on how to manage cancer in children and more so during the period of a pandemic.
