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Kenyatta National Hospital staffers prepare to match in commemoration of World Aids Day. Facility has only two cancer treatment machines. [Photo: George Njunge/Standard]
Kenyans seeking cancer treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have to wait for two years before being served due to the acute shortage of critical equipment and a very long list of cancer patients.
There are even increasing fears the waiting period may lengthen even further as the number of patients seeking cancer treatment at the facility soars. Woman Representatives from the 47 counties who visited the facility heard that KNH has only two cancer treatment machines that are serving Kenyans from all over the country.
The MPs, under the Women Caucus, have now demanded that the Government urgently sets aside money to purchase more equipment. Many Kenyans with various forms of cancer prefer going to KNH since the same treatments are very expensive in private hospitals.
"There is no reason why each county cannot have their own machines. People don't have to wait for so long to receive treatment because cancer does not wait," said Priscilla Nyokabi (Nyeri).
Decommission machine
"Cancer does not wait until a person starts receiving treatment. This may be the reason why many Kenyans are dying of cancer because they have to wait two years," she added.
KNH Chief Executive Officer Lily Koross called on the legislators to allocate KNH more funds. She said that of the two cancer machines, one should have been decommissioned a long time ago.
"We are expecting another machine to fight cancer but that would still be a drop in the ocean. The number of Kenyans who need urgent cancer treatment is quite high. We request that this issue be prioritised by the Government and other development agencies," she said.
The MPs also raised an alarm about the acute shortage of oncologists or cancer specialists in the country. Kenya has only eight oncologists. It emerged that three oncologists are serving the huge number of patients visiting KNH, apart from also serving patients in Mombasa and Nyeri.
"We will be pushing for a special scholarship and training programme to ensure that the country produces a good number of oncologists to serve Kenyans. The current situation is unsustainable since cancer is a growing problem," said Rachel Shebesh (Nairobi).
Florence Kajuju (Meru) told Koross to submit budget proposals so that they can lobby their colleagues in Parliament to increase their budget.
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