African Women Join Forces to Tackle Breast Cancer in Africa
16 October 2024: A group of African women leaders have come together to form the Africa Breast Cancer Council, with the support of Roche, one of the world’s largest biotech companies.
The Africa Breast Cancer Council is a response to the growing burden of breast cancer on the African continent. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in Africa and causes the most cancer-related deaths. Only one in two women in sub-Saharan Africa are currently expected to survive for five years after receiving a diagnosis.
The Council will leverage their extensive, diverse and complementary experience to guide and drive policy change in their home countries and across the continent. They will encourage increased collaboration, better data collection, and improved patient outcomes. The Council’s work will seek to foster systemic improvements in healthcare infrastructure, access, and funding, driving sustainable, scalable impact for breast cancer care. The Council will focus initially on African healthcare systems which are open to partnership and innovation, then move to scale this work across the continent.
The Africa Breast Cancer Council members include:
- Soraya Mellali, Former Executive Director, African Development Bank Group: Development strategist/economist with over 25 years’ experience at The World Bank, UNDP, Central Bank of Algeria. (Chair of the Council).
- Wendy Cupido, General Manager, Roche South Africa and Sub Region: Member of the Executive Board of the Marketing Code Authority and the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association of South Africa with over 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical sector. (Co-chair of the Council).
- Dorothy Nyong’o, First Lady of Kisumu County, Kenya: Managing Trustee of Africa Cancer Foundation, consultant for International Planned Parenthood Federation and Family Health Options Kenya.
- Dr Carol Benn, Fellow, College of Surgeons of South Africa: Head of Breast Unit of Helen Joseph Hospital, Johannesburg, founding member of the Breast Health Foundation.
- Karen Nakawala Chilowa, Executive Director, Teal Sisters Foundation: Member of Taskforce for Cervical Cancer Elimination in the Commonwealth, cervical cancer survivor.
- Dr Selma Gadria, Oncologist surgeon in private practice at Hannibal Medical Center, Tunisia: Executive Officer, Association Nourane.
- Dr Miriam Mutebi, Breast Cancer Surgical Oncologist: Vice-President, East Africa of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer, Chairperson for the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology, member of Board of Directors of the Union for International Cancer Control. The first female breast cancer surgeon in Kenya.
- Dr Magda Robalo, President and Co-founder, Institute for Global Health and Development: Global Managing Director, Women in Global Health, Chair of the Ethics and Governance Committee of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, former Minister of Health, Guinea-Bissau.
- H.E Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, Chairperson, First Ladies Against Cancer Initiative: Former First Lady of Kebbi State, Nigeria, consultant Pediatrician and advocate for women’s health.
- Dr Verna Vanderpuye, Senior Consultant, Ghana National Center for Radiotherapy, Oncology and Nuclear Medicine: Recipient of the 2019 International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award, Treasurer of the African Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.
Dr Miriam Mutebi, Africa Breast Cancer Council member and Breast Cancer Surgical Oncologist at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi said: “This Council has chosen to launch during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a recognised annual global movement to drive awareness and improve early detection and thus outcomes. We are using this month to start raising our collective voice, alongside others committed to reducing the unacceptable toll of breast cancer on African women. As the work progresses, we will be highlighting the critical gaps that different countries in Africa need to close, to speed up effective breast cancer diagnosis and treatment and survivorship.”
It can take more than six months for women in Africa to receive a breast cancer diagnosis after noticing symptoms, due in part to healthcare system inefficiencies and limited access to specialized care. This contributes to 60-70% of African women receiving a diagnosis in the late stage, reducing chances of survival and increasing cancer care costs with more expensive therapies and longer hospital stays. This is exacerbated by a lack of awareness of the importance of breast self-checks, along with widespread stigma surrounding breast cancer treatment. In light of this need, the Council will work at a national level to reduce the time to diagnosis from six months to 60 days.
In Kenya, more than 60% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at late stage. On an individual level, a lack of knowledge of the symptoms and curability of breast cancer along with geographic distance to health centres contribute to late detection. At a national level, a lack of integrated health systems, resulting in complex patient pathways and the cost of cancer care, also present barriers to treatment.
Wendy Cupido, Africa Breast Cancer Council Co-chair and General Manager at Roche South Africa and Sub Region said: “Every woman on this Council has a day job that plays an important role in the fight against breast cancer. Our aim in coming together is to channel our knowledge, expertise, relationships and energy into a collective voice, and a collective force, to focus on significant areas of concern.”
Dr Magda Robalo, Africa Breast Cancer Council member and President and Co-founder, Institute for Global Health and Development said: “Most African women with breast cancer are diagnosed too late and, even after a diagnosis, many do not receive the treatment they need. This egregious injustice is utterly preventable. In response, the Africa Breast Cancer Council will work to shape policies and advocate for governments to urgently commit the resources needed.”
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