Alarm as Kenya grapples with 43,000 new cancer infections yearly

Kenya continues to grapple with an alarming rise in cancer cases, with close to 45,000 new infections and over 30,000 deaths reported annually, health experts have warned.

During a regional training on breast cancer imaging that ended on Thursday, October 9,  2025, specialists from 13 countries across the region raised concerns over limited cancer-care infrastructure, inadequate capacity building and insufficient funding.

Health experts are now calling for immediate and coordinated interventions to curb the growing burden of the disease and improve the quality of life for patients.

The alarming revelation of high cancer prevalence rate and new infections in the country comes even as cancer patients continue to decry over inadequate cover by the Social Health Authority (SHA).

Suffering cancer patients decry the current funding for cancer treatment by SHA is not enough to meet the high costs of medication, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery.

SHA currently provides Sh400,000 per person per year for cancer treatment, covering Sh100,000 for diagnostic tests such as PET and PSMA scans and Sh300,000 for treatment.

Every household has a SHA cancer coverage of Sh550,000 which agonising patients say is inadequate for the actual cost of fighting cancer.

The training was organised by Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The experts emphasized the urgent need to strengthen cancer care systems through increased investment in modern diagnostic and treatment technology, expansion of specialized training for health professionals, and improved public awareness campaigns to tackle the root causes of cancer.

They also called for the establishment of more cancer treatment and research centers, as well as national and regional cancer registries to provide reliable data for informed policy making and effective interventions.

Led by Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Science, Research and Innovation, Prof Shaukat Abdulrazak and IAEA representative Miriam Mikhail, the forum underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in developing sustainable cancer control strategies across Africa.

“Non-communicable diseases like cancer have really become a monster, so to speak. When we look at breast cancer, it is not just a disease affecting women but has a huge impact on the society,” stated Dr Abdulrazak.

The PS added that lack of enough professionals and adequate infrastructure in the region was hindering progress in the fight against the scourge and added that the training on breast cancer imaging would empower the countries represented in that field.

On her part, Dr Mikhail said Kenya helped pave the way in strengthening radiation therapy while IAEA procured and installed several linear accelerators for radiation therapy treatment.

The KUTRRH Chief Executive Dr Zainab Gura various measures have been taken to provide specialized care for breast cancer patients at the facility with full medical cover from the Social Health Authority (SHA).

Dr Caroline Ngugi of KUTRRH noted that the biggest challenge has been capacity building and added that the hospital has been able to train its staff in molecolar diagnosis and nuclear medicine as well as being the first Kenyan medical facility to acquire a Cyberknife.

“We are getting a lot of requests from the whole of Africa and marginalized areas of Kenya in terms of training and we are glad that this training is taking place in our country,” said Ngugi.

At the institutional level, KUTRRH was recognized for its efforts to improve cancer care, though experts noted that more investment is required in equipment and staff training to enhance service delivery and reduce patient waiting times.

The stakeholders rooted for a collective commitment to strengthen partnerships, research and innovation to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment across the region.