By Morton Sibale, MANA
Minister of Health and Population, Jappie Mhango Friday afternoon officially launched the Malawi National Cancer Strategic Plan, which aims at guiding and informing national interventions in fighting against cancer in the country.
The launch of the 10-year plan took place at Kalambo primary school ground in Lilongwe as the country commemorated the World Cancer Day, which originally falls on 4 February each year. The theme for this year’s commemorations was ‘I am and I will’.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mhango described the strategic plan as an important document that will guide the country in the fight against cancer by ensuring that there is cohesion in the efforts.
“I am very happy to launch this plan today as it is an important document in our efforts to fight cancer in the country. This plan will help us organize ourselves and ensure that there is cohesion and that all of us are pulling in the same direction,” Mhango said.
Mhango further said that government is doing all it can to raise awareness to all the citizens to ensure that people are taking all the available measures to prevent it.
“We have many challenges as a nation in the fight against this disease, such as lack of resources. But whatever the situation we face, we are doing whatever we can as government to ensure that we are fighting this disease,” Mhango said.
In her remarks, Cancer Association of Malawi President, Regina Njirima said her association is happy with the introduction of the strategic plan as it shows that government is taking the fight against cancer in the country seriously.
“This strategic plan shows that the government is now taking the issue of cancer seriously. As Cancer Association, we are very happy because it means that from now on we will have a plan in fighting the disease and it will help us to be effective in our efforts on the ground,” said Njirima.
Kerius Mshamboza, who represented the World Health Organization (WHO) as Malawi Country Representative at the ceremony concurred with Njirima, saying the strategy would ensure that the country has a coordinated plan in fighting the disease.
“The strategic plan means that the country will be able to see where we are going in fighting the disease. It will also help the country estimate the amount of resources that will be required to adequately address the cancer situation,” Mshambodza said.
The Malawi National Cancer Strategic Plan is a 10-year plan that will be implemented from 2020 to 2030.
Among others, the strategy aims to provide a platform for collective effort in raising awareness on cancer issues in Malawi.
