Dr Miriam Mutebi, a leading breast cancer surgeon and Assistant Professor at Aga Khan University, Kenya, delivered a potent message of hope and progress to the 2024
White House Africa Cancer Care Forum on July 15.
Her speech highlighted the critical need to shift the narrative surrounding cancer in Africa. Dr Mutebi, a distinguished alumna of AKU and current president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC Africa), was also recently
recognized for her dedication to the field with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Humanitarian Award.
Spotlighting the story of Amina, a 38-year-old Kenyan woman who initially faced significant delays in diagnosis due to lack of awareness and misconceptions about cancer, Amina's story served as a springboard for Dr Mutebi to discuss the positive strides being made across Africa.
One key takeaway from Dr Mutebi's presentation was the increasing number of National Cancer Control Plans being established. These plans acknowledge the growing cancer burden in Africa and outline strategies for prevention, early detection, treatment, and survivorship. Additionally, the regionalization of cancer centers in countries like Kenya is improving access to care for patients like Amina, minimizing travel burdens and disruptions to daily life. “...[patients like] Amina receiving care closer to home ensures that they're not having to travel long distances in order for them to access care and minimize the disruption to their day-to-day activities," said Dr Mutebi.
She also praised the strong grassroots advocacy efforts now underway. Community leaders, healthcare workers and patients are working together to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and provide support to patients throughout their cancer journeys. Amina herself exemplifies this progress, with Dr Mutebi sharing her story, “Amina now has actually started her own civil society organization that's actually helping newly diagnosed cancer patients to access care, and she is a member of the technical working group of Kenya's Ministry of Health where she sits and provides important information to policy makers about how to best treat patients in our setting."
The White House Africa Cancer Forum also serves as a platform to discuss ongoing challenges. Dr Mutebi emphasized the significant disparity in global oncology resource allocation, with only five percent directed towards countries carrying the highest cancer burden. “I'm grateful to hear the increased engagement and interest in increasing funding, but it's looking through how do we then start to amplify that across the region," Dr. Mutebi added. She called for increased funding and collaboration to amplify support across the African region.
"We should be outraged," Dr Mutebi remarked. "Cancer research in Africa comprises only about 8% of the global total. This is a tremendous opportunity to shift the narrative for our patients. Even more concerning, of that meager 8%, just five African countries conduct 34% of all the research done on the continent. We must find new models that can simultaneously enhance research, service delivery, and patient care in Africa."
The importance of patient-centered care was a recurring theme. Dr Mutebi stressed the need for increased cancer research focused on the African context. She pointed out that current treatment protocols may not always be optimized for African patients, highlighting the critical gap in research specific to the continent.
At AKU, the
Clinical Research Unit (CRU) which is part of AKU's Cancer Centre in Nairobi, aims to be a trailblazer in the fight against the disease. In addition to bringing hope to patients by providing them with access to novel therapies, the CRU is addressing the need for evidence on the safety and efficacy of cancer drugs in African populations.
Watch Dr Mutebi's address here.
