First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has been described as a great and committed role model on matters of health not only in Kenya but across Africa.
According to the PSCU, delegates at the just ended 10th Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostrate Cancer in Africa conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia singled her out for her commitment in the Beyond Zero initiative and her great leadership of the SCCA movement for the past one year.
“We congratulate you for your devotion and commitment as you led the organisation (SCCA) in fighting cancer in Africa. We made great strides during your tenure,” said Burkina Faso First Lady Adjoavi Sika Kabore on Wednesday.
The Burkina Faso First Lady made the remarks during an acceptance speech to host the 12th edition of the SCCA conference in her country, 2018. Next year’s conference will be in Swaziland.
Nairobi woman representative Rachel Shebesh who represented National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi at the conference said the First Lady was a great role model in Kenya by initiating the Beyond Zero drive that has so far distributed 43 fully kitted mobile clinics across Kenya.
Shebesh who led members of the Parliamentary Health Committee to the conference said the First Lady had opened up a whole new dimension on mobilising Kenyans through the Half Marathons she has been participating in, both locally and abroad.
Besides serving as platforms to raise resources to purchase the mobile clinics, the marathons have also become popular forums to sensitize Kenyans on issues of health especially maternal health and child mortality.
Shebesh talked on the role of Parliament in fighting cancer and highlighted the legislative and budgetary allocation mandates of parliament in the war against the disease amongst other roles.
Although only five First Ladies from Kenya, Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Mozambique and host Ethiopia attended the closing ceremony of the four-day conference, the final communique’ was signed by 18 members, all First Ladies in their respective countries.
In their final statement the First Ladies and delegates agreed to advocate and push for initiatives on price reduction, to support affordability and availability of essential medicines, vaccines and technologies while maintaining high quality standards.
The delegates additionally committed themselves to advocate the use of innovative technologies to advance cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care with particular focus on highly preventable cancers like cervical, breast and prostrate cancer.
They also committed themselves to intensify awareness and efforts to halt and reduce the burden of cancer in Africa by 2030.
It is feared that unless deliberate interventions are made, cancer related deaths in the continent could shoot by 70 per cent by 2030.
The delegates also agreed to support Government efforts in African countries to enhance the participation of civil society, academia, development partners, media and the public in the fight against the disease.
They further committed themselves to mobilize political and community support on prevention and control of cancer.
The delegates further committed themselves to promote the development, strengthening and implementation of evidence based health policies and programs through an integrated health system approach.
That approach, they said, should focus on assuring adequate human, technical and financial resources to achieve universal health coverage to prevent cervical, breast and prostrate cancer, reduce suffering and premature death.
Besides the First Ladies, the conference drew participants from across the world include diplomats, Health Ministers, policy makers, researchers and foremost oncologists.
There were personal testimonies from cancer survivors who gave moving accounts of how they had bravely defeated cancer.
These testimonies came from as far as America where Dr Oliver Bogler testified how he and his wife had both suffered but bravely fought breast cancer including undergoing mastectomy.