The Global Fight Against Cancer

A New Hope: Relay For Life in Kenya

Iris Pendegrast, Managing Director, Global Relay For Life

In early March, I visited Kenya with several staff members from the American Cancer Society Global Health department and a Society volunteer to determine how the American Cancer Society can best support cancer treatment and prevention efforts in this country.  As part of this trip, we trained volunteers for the country’s first Relay For Life, which will be hosted by KENCASA (Kenya Cancer Association) in June 2014.  

The cancer situation in Kenya is pretty bleak for patients without financial means.  In a country of 40 million, 60% make less than $2 per day. Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Kenya –after infectious diseases and cardiovascular disease. The leading cancers in Kenya are cervical and breast cancer for women and prostate and esophagus for men. Over 80% of cancer cases in Kenya present late and 80% come from the rural areas. Currently, the Kenyatta National Hospital, the only public hospital that treats cancer patients, has an extreme backlog and isn’t scheduling appointments for newly diagnosed patients who need radiation until February 2015.

We met with several organizations and key stakeholders during our visit who explained that late presentation and management of cancer is due to multiple factors:
- Lack of awareness
- Inadequate diagnostic facilities
- Lack of treatment facilities
- High cost of treatment – the public hospital charges for treatment
- High poverty index

We heard throughout the trip about the lack of a facility for patients to stay if they were lucky enough to actually get an appointment for treatment in Nairobi.  We had the chance to meet with the executive leadership of the private hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital, and they gave us a tour.  It is indeed a fine hospital, in stark contrast to the public hospital where they have one used radiation machine and patients may have to wait a year or more for radiation. 

It is at this crossroads between the cancer science, treatment, and fundraising where our Global Relay For Life fits. The mission for Relay For Life through KENCASA is to fund the treatment of at least 30 patients in each of the 54 counties across the country.  These are people that currently have no resources, no transportation to Nairobi hospitals, and nowhere to stay when they get to the city. It is the sincere hope of the American Cancer Society Global Health Department that in partnership with Global Relay For Life, KENCASA will begin to generate the funds required to provide the basic resources needed in this growing country. 

While there, we hosted a reception to officially kick off Relay For Life in Kenya, and we had over a 100 VIPs attend.  Among them was the Chairman of KCB bank, who not only publicly stated the bank's support of Relay by committing multiple teams, but they also made a commitment of 250,000 Kenyan shillings (about $3,000). 

The highlight for the Relay team was the Relay For Life training.  Laura McCormick, ACS Global Relay For Life volunteer from the New England Division, did an outstanding job showcasing the importance of the volunteer role in Relay, and the Kenyan volunteers connected with her as a role model instantly. Ann McMikel, Vice President of Global Partnerships and Planning, and Jacqui Drope, Managing Director of Global Cancer Prevention, shared our collective global planning and how to leverage the goals and partners of both organizations in the global fight against cancer. We had the opportunity to meet with the Kenyan Relay leadership committee and helped prepare them for the all-day training.  The training was originally was planned for 35 people, but in fact 180 people attended! Many had traveled over 300 km to get there and they were one of the most engaged groups in my history with our Global Relay For Life program.

It is evident that Relay For Life is going to make an incredible difference in Kenya, and it is definitely going to give a voice to the people in most need.  I believe that the volunteers that attended our training will make the difference and they will do it quickly.  They were very verbal about the plight of cancer patients and one after one pledged their commitment to make Relay For Life a success in their country.  Relay will bring much needed education to debunk the myths surrounding cancer in the rural counties, it will provide critical prevention information, and it will bring much needed funds to help 1,470 Kenyans get the treatment they need. Above all, Relay will mobilize these communities, which will in turn force policy change at the highest level - the only way the cancer landscape will change over the long-term.

 

One of the highlights of the week was meeting with the Governor of Nairobi, Dr.Evans Kidero, who lost his wife a few years ago to cervical cancer.

 

 

Luminaria Ceremony training with Relay For Life of Kenya volunteers.

Renewed Partnership Between the University of Pretoria and the American Cancer Society Offers Graduate School Training and Fellowships Focused on Tobacco Control

For a second year, the American Cancer Society is pleased to support a trans-disciplinary research and graduate training program in tobacco control at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.  The program – an 18-month residency degree -- is a collaboration with the School of Dentistry in concert with the School of Health Systems and Public Health.

Three fully funded fellowships for a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Health Promotion with special interest in tobacco control are available. The fellowships will be offered on a competitive basis to citizens of any sub-Saharan country and will cover the cost of tuition, prescribed books, airfare,research practicum, thesis, health insurance, accommodation, and a monthly living allowance for the duration of the programme.The program will provide students with an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in public health and translate this knowledge to the field of tobacco control. The focus areas are intervention designs and monitoring as well as evaluation of national and regional tobacco control on the African continent.The deadline for applications is July 20, 2012. To find out more about requirements and courses, download the UPACS Brochure 2012 and please visit the University of Pretoria's UPACS website to access application forms.

Request for Applications - Building Academic Curricula for Tobacco Control Research and Leadership Development

Atlanta, USA — The American Cancer Society is currently inviting Colleges and Universities, Schools of Medicine or Nursing, and other institutions of higher learning to submit an Application to develop academic training programs on tobacco control within their institutions. The overall goal of the Request for Applications is to establish a rigorous, formal course of study, preferably at the graduate level, which will prepare students in low and middle-income countries for tobacco control work in civil society, government, research institutions, or the private sector upon graduation. In so doing, this Request for Applications aims to move tobacco control training and research to a higher priority in educational settings of higher learning, by supporting the development of formal educational programs (degree, certificate, certification, continuing medical education credit, etc.) in public health or other academic disciplines that are relevant to tobacco control.

Applications will be accepted from institutions in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

More information and the application form can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/87trs6p

 

Tobacco Control and International Trade in Africa

Representatives from 13 African countries learn new skills to fight the deadly tobacco trade

Nairobi, Kenya — The American Cancer Society organised an international trade and tobacco control workshop from July 26–28, in Kenya’s capital city. The three-day workshop convened lawyers specializing in international trade law, tobacco-control advocates, representatives from non-governmental organizations involved in international trade law issues in Africa, representatives of the World Health Organization’s Tobacco Free Initiative and the United Nations Commission on International Trade as well as facilitators from Marquette University, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and the Geneva-based Union for International Cancer Control.

Participants hailed from 13 countries in Africa including  Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo , Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria Senegal, South Africa, Togo,  and Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

The workshop leaders presented sessions addressing three key topics:

• The terms of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and its guidelines

• Basic legal and institutional features of the World Trade Organization (WTO), regional trade bodies specific to Africa and international investment agreements

• Arguments made by the tobacco industry that draw on international trade and investment laws as well as the counterarguments that can be made by civil society

Participants discussed national and regional  economic blocs in Africa, namely the East African Community (EAC), the South African Development Community (SADC), the South African Customs Union, the Common Market for East and Central Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States,  (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union, (WAEMU) as well as opportunities and challenges for tobacco control and economic integration by these blocs.

The participants also were introduced to the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and provisions within international investment agreements used by the tobacco industry to challenge tobacco control measures globally, and most recently in Africa in the run up to the 4th Conference of the Parties of the FCTC held in Uruguay in November 2010.

Workshop debates focused on concrete examples of the theory presented such as the legal challenge filed by Indonesia against the United States ban on clove cigarettes, complaints raised against bans on flavored tobacco products by Brazil and Canada at the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee and TRIPS Council at the WTO, as well as the complaint raised by Phillip Morris Asia under a bilateral investment treaty concerning Australia's move to enact legislation to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products. Discussions among the participants highlighted how health exceptions to the trade law concept of non-discrimination under the GATT, and flexibilities in the TRIPS, could be used to defend these challenges on health grounds.

The participants wrapped up three days of hard work by identifying further actions to move the agenda on tobacco control and trade forward.

University of Pretoria and American Cancer Society Collaborate to Offer Graduate Training and Fellowships Focused on Tobacco Control

 

Pretoria, South Africa -- The American Cancer Society is pleased to support a trans-disciplinary research and graduate training program in tobacco control at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The program – an 18-month residency degree  -- is a collaboration with the School of Dentistry  in concert with the School of Health Systems and Public Health.

 

Three fully funded fellowships are available for a Master of Public Health degree in Health Promotion with special focus on tobacco control. The program will provide students with an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in public health and translate this knowledge to the field of tobacco control.

The focus areas are intervention designs and monitoring as well as evaluation of national and regional tobacco control on the the African continent. The University of Pretoria-American Cancer Society fellowships will be offered on a competitive basis to citizens from countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The deadline for applications is June 30, 2011. To find out more about requirements and courses, or to download the information brochure and application form, please visit the University of Pretoria's website.

 

 

Africa Tobacco Control Consortium launches new Web site

The Africa Tobacco Control Consortium (ATCC), a coalition of public health organizations focused on the prevention of a tobacco epidemic in Africa and coordinated by the American Cancer Society, recently launched its new Web site: africatobaccocontrol.org. Working in partnership with the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance  (ATCA), Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative  (ATCRI), Framework Convention Alliance  (FCA), Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids  (CTFK), and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease  (The Union), the ATCC’s mission is, among other things, to assist governments and civil society to implement policies in line with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control  (FCTC) in the 46 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Tobacco control activities are an important component of the American Cancer Society’s involvement in sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to programs supporting work with media organizations covering cancer and tobacco issues, as well as with stakeholders in cancer control efforts.

The new Web site will serve as the virtual “face” of the consortium, providing details on its tobacco control action grants programs, technical assistance, and upcoming tobacco control events. International-, regional-, and country-level news updates relevant to tobacco control in the area will be systematically communicated through this medium. The Web site will hopefully become a one-stop shop for specific information on tobacco control in sub-Saharan Africa, by consolidating resources from ATCRI, ATCA, and FCA, the three regional organizations leading tobacco control initiatives on the continent, in the same virtual library. Additionally, detailed country profiles outlining the critical components of national tobacco control interventions will be available. The Web site is available in both French and English; it also features some content in Portuguese, which will be expanded gradually. In the near future, the Web site will also provide opportunities for interaction between regional tobacco control stakeholders, by introducing a space for debate and experience sharing.    

For more information on the Africa Tobacco Control Consortium, please click on the following link  to be redirected to the new Web site or visit the American Cancer Society’s Web page  to learn more about its activities in sub-Saharan Africa.