KAMPALA – The Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) has shone over its financial and other challenges and has received international recognition for Cost-Effective Paediatric Cancer Treatment.
This is contained in an article published by the Journal of the American Cancer Society, 2019 which featured a study that was done on building a financial case for treating childhood cancer in resource-limited settings.
“A special case study was carried on the cost-effectiveness of treating childhood cancers with a focus on Burkitt Lymphoma in Uganda. For children diagnosed with cancer, the cost of delivering treatment services has until recently been largely assumed as too expensive and not cost-effective, with little to no evidence from low middle-income countries to support this,” said Dr Jackson Orem, the Executive Director of the institute at Mulago.
He further explained that such studies dedicated to childhood cancers in resource-limited and deprived settings have been met with limited transparency over monetary inputs and this is because historically it received limited interest as a global health priority. A sample of patients diagnosed and treated between a space of about four years was examined following the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for economic by employing a generic outcome measure, the Disability – Adjusted – Life – Year (DAILY) to facilitate a comparison of results across variety of diseases, interventions and health system contexts.
“Uganda was selected under a very rigorous process and will host the International Society Paediatric Oncology conference in 2021 after Cairo this year. This is a very prestigious award because it demonstrates the confidence that the entire continent with a specialist in Paediatric Oncology has faced at UCI and its ability to host and showcase science of this magnitude that is required to direct the agenda of paediatric oncology,” said Dr. Joyce Balagadde, the Head of Paediatric at UCI.
She further said the conference will be hosted under the theme “Innovative Africa” and this is because “we are rising to the challenge of improving the survival of childhood cancer.”
Dr. Henry Ddungu said: “We shall have the Second Uganda Cancer and Palliative conference dubbed “Universal Health Coverage” from 5 to 6, September 2019 at the Serena Kampala Hotel.”
At this conference, Uganda will showcase all the research that has been done to prove that cancer treatment is effective based on evidence. There will be sharing of experience through quality research and innovations done in areas of prevention, promotion, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.