The Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) commemorated World Cancer Day on Friday with an outreach programme aimed to provide free cancer screenings for both men and women in rural communities throughout Namibia.
Commemorated under the theme, ‘Closing the cancer care gap,’ World Cancer Day is an international day observed annually on 04 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.
Chief Executive Officer of CAN Rolf Hansen, told Nampa that inequalities in healthcare have been highlighted more than ever before as a result of Covid-19.
‘The time has come to accept that we must coexist with this pandemic and all other diseases, and to shift our focus back to all-around quality health care. Our health-care systems must function properly if we are to achieve better health outcomes and move toward equitable health-care delivery,” he stated.
According to Hansen, an in-depth examination of socioeconomic factors such as cultural contexts, gender norms, income, and education levels, as well as assumptions based on age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and lifestyle, which create wide disparities in cancer prevention, incidence, and survival rates, is required.
‘Cancer screening amongst transgender people and others within the LGBTQ+ community is lower than in the rest of the population, in part due to discrimination from healthcare practitioners,’ he said.
He stated that where there is progress, there is hope and that change is possible when people band together, communities rally around the vulnerable, and individuals innovate and collaborate across borders.
‘Progress can take many forms, such as a new partnership to provide better screening services to rural communities or a neighbourhood banding together to provide transportation to cancer treatment for a fellow resident,’ he said.
Hansen urged Namibians to band together and close the care and support gap so that all cancer patients in Namibia have improved access to treatment, support, and cancer care.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
