MPs call for cancer treatment centres
The statement by Mr Chireh, on Tuesday, was to mark the World Childhood Cancer Day which fell on February 15, this year.
Childhood cancers refer to neoplastic disorders affecting individuals aged less than 15 who are part of the age group that constitutes approximately 40 per cent of the population of Ghana.
Although reliable data on cancers in Ghana are scarce and limited to institutional reports, they indicate that the disease has emerged as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Ghana.
It is estimated that 1,000 children are affected by the disease annually in Ghana and the chances of survival are usually lower than 20 per cent.
Mr Chireh said childhood cancers, according to health experts, could be cured - provided prompt and essential treatment was accessible.
In Ghana, he noted, deaths occurred because of a general lack of awareness, compounded by adverse socio-cultural practices.
According to him, due to ignorance and superstitious beliefs, childhood cancer is attributed to the work of witchcraft or other evil forces, a situation which leads to the sending of children suffering from the disease to prayer camps and herbalists for healing.
Other limitations, he said, included inadequate diagnostic services, unavailability or irregularity in the supply and unaffordable costs of chemotherapeutic agents, limited access to suitable protocols and inadequate supportive care.
“The fact is that, support for cancer treatment is limited in Ghana and the cost of treatment is left in the hands of families and few donors for their children.”
Mr Chireh intimated that, currently, there were only two paediatric cancer units in the country and they could be found in the Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals in Accra and Kumasi respectively.
He said it was unfortunate that cancer treatment was not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme and added that in many parts of the world, that was not the case.
With early detection and appropriate treatment, he said, most childhood cancers were curable and added that there was the need to intensify education and demystify it.
He urged all members of the House to rally behind calls for inclusion of childhood cancer in the diseases list of the NHIS as had been done for breast and prostate cancer.
The Member for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, said it made more sense to include childhood cancer in the NHIS list than the other types of cancers currently on the list.
He called for the establishment of a cancer database in the country and a budget set aside for treatment.
He also called for an increased budget for the NHIS to enable it to accommodate diseases such as the childhood cancer.
Story by Mark-Anthony Vinorkor
