A GOOD SHOW AT THE 2022 MOMBASA ASK SHOW
November 5, 2022
Pleased Bill Gates Pledges to Continue Funding Research at KEMRI
November 21, 2022KEMRI AFRICA’S DESIGNATED AS THE SUB-SAHARA CENTRE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER (IARC)
The Institute has been designated as the collaborating Centre for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to support capacity building for cancer registries in sub-Sahara Africa.
The Institute will be one of the three collaborating focal centres working closely with the sub-Saharan Africa hub, the Africa Cancer Registries Network and the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR).
The designation is a major plus not just for KEMRI, but also Kenya and the region which is currently dealing with a surge of cancer and other Non-Communicable Diseases. Cancer registration is an essential platform for the research and monitoring of cancer control programmes in the country.
In his remarks at the official inauguration of the collaborating centre on Thursday 17th November 2022 held at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi, Dr. Simon Kibias, the Acting Director Health Standards and Regulations at the Ministry of Health who represented the Director General at the Ministry Dr.. Patrick Amoth noted that the country is undergoing an ever-increasing burden in Non – Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like Cancer which saw 42,000 cases were recorded in 2020 by the Global Cancer Index (GLOBOCAN), and whose burden is expected to double by 2040. He further noted that data is central within the cancer control continuum
“Cancer data is important as it helps to document the cancer burden, informs policy prioritization, guides resource allocation and also helps to generate research hypothesis to guide policy formulation,” he stated.
KEMRI’s Director General, Prof. Sam Kariuki was represented at the function by Prof. Elijah Songok who expressed his gratitude for the support the Institute continues to receive from partners and for being chosen as one of the three IARC collaborating centres for sub-Saharan Africa hub. “Thank you for recognizing the effort by our teams. Indeed, these efforts have borne fruit not only for the country but the entire sub-Saharan Africa.”
Prof. Songok applaud the Centre for Clinical Research (CCR), Cancer Registry team headed by Ann Korir for this achievement.
The event was also graced by Dr. Freddie Bray, Head of Cancer Surveillace Unit at the IARC, Prof. Max Parkin, Coordinator Africa Cancer Registries Network, Dr. Sharon Kapambwe, World Health Organisation (WHO) Technical Officer Cancer East and Sothern Africa, Tania Issofu representing Vital Strategies, Biying Liu, Administrative Officer, AFCRN AND Dr. Nathan Buzida, Director Eldoret Cancer Registry, Moi University.
