Cancer already causes more deaths each year worldwide than HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria combined. By 2020 there are expected to be 16 million new cases of cancer every year, 70 per cent of which will be in developing countries, which are least prepared to address the growing cancer burden. In the developing world, one-third of cancers are potentially preventable and another third are treatable if detected early. However, in many developing countries, governments and institutions face a wide range of serious health problems and cancer is often not a priority in limited-resource settings. This is particularly true in African countries where a cancer diagnosis means a painful and distressing death in most cases. Lack of resources and basic infrastructure mean that millions of people have no access to cancer screening, early diagnosis, treatment or palliative care. To establish cancer care programmes in African countries requires the integration of clinical and public-health systems so as to be truly comprehensive, and must bring together prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, palliative care and the investment needed to deliver these services. AfrOx is committed to doing this.

AfrOx is a new organisation founded by Prof David Kerr, University of Oxford, whose mission is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to improve cancer prevention and treatment in Africa. It will play a leading co-ordinating role in bringing together relevant organisations and individuals …>>>MORE