UN agency and Swiss pharmaceutical firm join to fight cancer in Africa
April 29th, 2010 - 12:32 am ICT by BNO NewsUNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) – The United Nations (UN) announced Wednesday that their atomic energy agency and a pharmaceutical firm will join to fight cancer in sub-Saharan Africa.
Education for Cancer in African Regions is a five-year project that will facilitate exchange of knowledge and skills, both at the healthcare provider and country-wide level. The joint effort is headed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Swiss-based Roche, and it is to be conducted in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In addition to financial support, Roche and the IAEA will work towards utilizing the expertise and skills of Roche employees by facilitating and implementing the education and training initiative, which will be provided by an online training resource center, known as the Virtual University for Cancer Control, the first such platform for health workers across the continent.
“As a leader in oncology, Roche believes that its strengths, expertise and resources can be used to improve the quality of oncology training and education in the poorest countries in the world,” said Maturin Tchoumi, General Manager Roche South Africa. “There is a real lack of basic education in oncology in Africa. By contributing our skills and competencies on the ground, Roche can make a real and sustainable improvement,” he added.
Cancer now accounts for 12.5 per cent of all deaths worldwide, more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. By 2020, there are expected to be 15 million new cases of cancer every year, 70 per cent of which will be in developing countries. And the lack of trained health-care workers in oncology in sub-Saharan Africa has been cited as one of the key barriers to improved healthcare.
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