Cancer Locks a Deadly Grip on Africa, Yet It’s Barely Noticed

Many specialist doctors and nurses in Africa are migrating to greener pastures, leaving cancer patients with few options. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPSBy Jeffrey MoyoHARARE, Feb 13 2015 (IPS)Hidden by the struggles to defeat Ebola, malaria and drug-resistant tuberculosis, a silent killer has been moving across the African continent, superseding infections of HIV and AIDS.World Cancer Day commemorated on Feb. 4 may have come and gone, but the spread of cancer in Africa has been worrying global health organisations and experts year round. The continent, they fear, is ill-prepared for another health crisis of enormous proportions.By 2020, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 16 million new cases of cancer are anticipated worldwide, with 70 percent of them in developing countries. Africa and Asia are not spared.“Africa is at a crossroads in the face of rising cancer cases, with the disease proving to be more deadly than HIV/AIDS and it is worsening at a time when the continent faces a serious shortage of cancer specialists,” Menzisi Thabane, private oncologist in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province“Africa is at a crossroads in the face of rising cancer cases, with the disease proving to be more deadly than HIV/AIDS and it is worsening at a time when the continent faces a serious shortage of cancer specialists,” Menzisi Thabane, a private oncologist in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, told IPS.“Africa and its leaders have failed to recogni...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Africa Editors' Choice Featured Headlines Health Poverty & MDGs Projects Women's Health Cancer Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) Earthlife Namibia ebola HIV/AIDS Jead Foundation Malaria Ocean Road Cancer Institute (O Source Type: news