New law to ease financial burden of cancer

When Medical Services minister Anyang Nyong’o went public about his battle with cancer, he caught the attention of many Kenyans.

Not only because he was a public figure, but to many, this was a story close to their hearts as some were sufferers, others had loved ones who had succumbed to the terminal illness due to lack of medical facilities and money.

Prof Nyong’o’s battle with prostrate cancer has attracted mixed reactions.

Of concern to many Kenyans is how the poor will access cheaper medical care and what the government is doing to equip more hospitals so as to curb unnecessary deaths from treatable cancers.

Currently, for a cancer patient that is to undergo radiotherapy in Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH)—one the two health centres that has the equipment— it costs Sh300 per session and one requires at least 32 of these for the therapy to work.

This translates to about Sh9,600 plus transport costs as most patients are referred from district clinics, accommodation charges for those who have no relatives in Nairobi and other check-up charges.

The other hospital MP Shah that has the facility charges higher— and it is out of reach of majority of Kenyan who live in abject poverty.

The Medical Services minister while acknowledging the extent of the cancer burden in Kenya, said there was need for individuals to keep some money aside for healthcare.

Currently, the National Hospital Insurance Fund offers an opportunity for Kenyans to make contributions out of which it pays part of the in-patient costs for members.

But for outpatient treatment costs which takes up huge of medical expenses, the fund does not pay.

Medical experts say Kenya needs serious cancer policy if the battle is to be won soon.

“As a country, we need to build capacity to fight cancer both in terms of human resources and technology,” said Dr Francis Kimani, the director of medical services in an interview with Business Daily.

The country also need sophisticated machines as those in developed countries to treat different types of cancers.

For example, while at KNH doctors are struggling with two manual cobalt units that often breakdown due to overwhelming patient numbers, nations with efficient cancer management systems have numerous linear accelerator machines that are more accurate in treatment.

The fact that the two hospitals are in Nairobi and are expected to serve patients from all over the country also adds to the challenges in fighting the disease.