CROSS border partnerships are essential to improving early cancer detection, expanding access to advanced technology and lowering treatment costs, Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has declared.

Officiating at the 30th anniversary of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute (ORCI) and the inaugural international oncology conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, he said Africa cannot fight against cancer if each country works in isolation.

Collaboration in research, diagnosis and treatment is essential to achieving meaningful progress, he said, urging African countries to pool resources, share expertise and coordinate strategies for research, diagnosis and treatment to confront the growing tumour crisis at the continental level.

Regional integration in healthcare is no longer optional but a necessary need, where Tanzania is ready to provide regional oncology facilitation, opening its diagnostic and treatment facilities to neighboring countries, he said.

Collaboration would not only strengthen Africa’s healthcare systems but also reduce dependence on expensive overseas treatment, he said, underlining that the government intends to make sure that every citizen will be guaranteed preventive, diagnostic and treatment services without unnecessary hardship.

Vulnerable sections of the population will now have direct access to life-saving screenings, as part of government efforts to meet an ambitious target of reducing cancer-related deaths by 30 percent by 2030.

So far the government has recruited 5,000 new medical staff in radiology, therapy and laboratory services, invested 18.5bn/- in a state-of-the-art PET scanner for mapping out tumours in the body, enhancing availability of essential cancer medicines by nearly universal coverage, he said.

Urging expanded cervical cancer vaccination coverage and stricter tobacco control measures, he said that denying people health education increases their risk of late diagnosis and threatens their right to life.

Mohamed Mchengerwa, the Health minister, said that substantial investments at ORCI have already begun reducing the brain drain of specialists and the financial burden of patients seeking costly treatment abroad.

To streamline services, all hospitals need to refer oncology cases directly to ORCI, he said, while Dr Grace Magembe, the chief medical officer, reminded the conference of the gravity of the situation, as Tanzania recorded 44,931 new cancer cases last year and saw 29,743 patients succumb to their tumours.

ORCI expects to become a regional center of excellence, innovation and training in that field, stressing long-term investment, collaboration and innovation as essential in the fight against cancer.

“Renewal of our commitment to treat cancer is to serve life,” she said, while Ngereza Mzee Miraji, the Health deputy principal secretary for Zanzibar, said that 200bn/- had been invested over the past five years.

The government plans to allocate 1.6trn/- in the next financial year to strengthen referral systems and health infrastructure, he said, while Dr Diwani Msemo, the ORCI director general said the transformation of the institute stands as the centrepiece of medical evolution in that sphere.

 Over the past three decades, the institute has grown from treating 10,000 patients annually to 57,000, while its staff has expanded from 46 to more than 500 professionals. ORCI now boasts the only PET scan facility in sub-Saharan Africa outside Egypt and South Africa, alongside modern radiotherapy units and an MRI suite.

Just over 30 years ago, a cancer diagnosis felt like a death sentence while today the picture has completely changed, he added.