The need to provide quality healthcare for Children suffering from all forms of childhood cancers

 The World Health Organisation indicates that 300,000 children are diagnosed with different types of cancer each year. In the last decade, the survival rates for most types of cancer such as leukemia, brain cancer, and lymphoma in children have improved in developed countries. Up to 80 percent of the patients survive, thanks to early diagnosis, timely treatment, and advance medication. However, most children who are battling cancer live in the developing world, where their survival rate is less than 25 percent.

In other words, children who find themselves in Ghana and other developing countries have lower survival rates. Ghana is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Right of the child. Article 24 requires parties to recognise the right of a child to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and facilities for treating illnesses and rehabilitation of health. But from all indications, this is a mirage in Ghana. The country has only two hospitals- Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching hospitals that can provide comprehensive childhood cancer treatment, a few care centers, and five trained paediatric oncologists. This is a disaster in waiting because 37 percent of the population is under fourteen years, a vulnerable group susceptible to childhood cancers. The World Child Cancer, an international charity organisation, report indicates that there will be between 1,200 to 1,300 new childhood cancer cases to be recorded in the country in a short period of time. There is an urgent need for government and stakeholders to provide comprehensive policies to support children’s treatment, care, and rehabilitation in the area of cancer treatment and management.

The cost of chemotherapy, drugs and few radiotherapy facilities make treatment very expensive for most people to afford. Though it is possible for parents to enrol their children on the National Health Insurance scheme under the cancer treatment policy on the National Health Insurance Scheme, the policy is not effective and does not help much. The problem of insufficient health care workers trained in paediatric cancer must be addressed urgently. Some of the over eighty district hospitals government intends to build in the coming years must be dedicated solely to childhood cancer treatment. Travelling distance to the hospitals plays a major role in parents bringing their children for treatment. Therefore, every region should have a facility dedicated exclusively for cancer treatment and management. It is disturbing for parents to travel long distances to seek medical attention in the few facilities which are already constrained by inadequate personnel and logistics. Authorities must raise more public awareness about childhood cancers for early diagnoses and treatment.

In Ghana, myths surrounding childhood cancers contribute to late and low diagnosis rates. Some believe children cannot get cancer, others do not know the early warning signs. Some are of the view that childhood cancers are incurable, that a child with cancer can infect another child when they are playing together or that a child who survives cancer will be infertile.  Education on the illness will go a long way to ensure that people do not treat cancers as a spiritual sickness but a medical condition that is treatable if diagnosed early. Public Health Awareness campaigns on breast cancer and some non-communicable diseases have yielded significant results over the years.  Same should be done in the case of childhood cancer.

With collective effort and promotion of universal health coverage, every Child in Ghana can access high-quality care with the greatest chance of survival. We must give childhood cancer the needed attention now.

By Pearlvis Atsu Kuadey, a media Monitor.