Mercy Steps Cancer, a non-governmental organisation, is stuck with thousands of breast prostheses in Switzerland meant for Kenyan cancer survivors due to hefty taxes.
The organisation is now asking the government to cut taxation on the donations needed by thousands of women who have undergone mastectomy.
Meru Hospice coordinator Gladys Mucee, member of Mercy Steps, said shipping has been a challenge due to taxes imposed on them.
“Our founder, Mercy Mbitau has a store full of the prostheses donated by well-wishers in Switzerland but we need financial support to ship them. The government should exempt such donations from tax,” she said.
Mucee said the market price for the prostheses is out of reach for many Kenyans recovering from decrease with high financial and emotional cost implications.
“Breast cancer survivors face a lot of stigma and emotional distress and so access to prostheses will go a long way in eliminating stigma and improving survivors quality of life,” she said.
The organisation in conjunction with the Meru Hospice has donated 200 breast prostheses to Meru County women who lost crucial parts through cancer.
The event that was held at the Meru Hospice grounds in Meru town was graced by the County First Lady Priscilla Murungi who emphasised the need for residents to visit the cancer centre located at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital for screening.
In rural Kenya, 80 per cent of women diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer have had a challenge acquiring mastectomy bras.
Mastectomy bras and breast prosthesis are incredibly expensive in Kenya as they go for more than Sh20,000 depending on size and quality, making them unaffordable for these women who have already paid for their treatment as a result, they substitute rags, socks, and other items for a prosthesis.
Through her Twaweza initiative, Murungi promised to resume the cancer screening campaigns throughout the county after they were halted due to Covid-19.
“Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we had traversed various corners of the county where we sensitised residents on the need for cancer screening and the events were very effective. We will soon be resuming the same to ensure our people are safe from the disease,” she said.
She said the campaigns had seen an increasing number of people who turned up for treatment at the cancer centre as well as those who visited Meru Hospice for palliative care.
“In the year 2019, 2,000 women visited the cancer centre, a number that doubled up to 4,000 in the year 2020. In 2021 we had 4,500 patients who visited the centre and the increasing number can be attributed to the awareness campaigns,” she said.
