2023-06-10 09:25:19
Prevention, screening and access to care: major challenges for effective care of cancer patients in Senegal
Year following year, cancer affects a growing proportion of African populations, and Senegal is no exception. To effectively fight once morest cancer pathologies, it is crucial to strengthen prevention as well as early detection and to increase access to treatment – as recalled here by Dr Fatma Guenoune, President of the Senegalese League once morest Cancer (Lisca), and Mr. Emmanuel Le Doeuff, Director of International Operations at Biogaran.
“Public health priorities” according to the Senegalese State, the pathologies cancers were responsible in 2020 for more than 11,000 new cases and nearly 8,000 deaths in the country. And the balance sheet should gradually increase. Indeed, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) predicts a 45% increase in the number of new cases by 2030: the prevalence rate should then rise to 16,000 new cases of cancer each year and to more than 11,000 deaths per year in the country. It should also be noted that certain cancers are more common in Senegal than others: cancers of the cervix, breast, prostate and liver are at the top of the most common cancerous pathologies in the country .
If this increase can be explained by structural factors related to contemporary lifestyles, it remains imperative to put in place strategies to strengthen the effectiveness of the fight. How to do ? Prevent, detect and treat with quality and accessible treatments. These actions involve following the patient throughout the course of care and strengthening collaboration between public authorities and health actors – non-governmental organizations, health professionals and private partners.
Take for example the case of cervical cancer. On its own, it was responsible for 17.1% of new cancer cases in 2020 and 16.6% of deaths from cancerous pathologies in Senegal1. However, there is a way to prevent it: the vaccine once morest the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). As such, Senegal became the first West African country to introduce the cervical cancer vaccine into its routine immunization program in 2018, enabling hundreds of thousands of young girls aged nine and over to get vaccinated for free, and therefore reduce the risk of contracting this cancer. A great step forward in prevention. Other actions of this type must nevertheless be established with the help of actors from the public and private sectors to raise public awareness of the behavior to adopt to prevent the onset of cancer.
If prevention is a first solution, early detection of cancers is also an essential element to fight effectively once morest cancerous pathologies. First of all, it should be remembered that the lack of awareness regarding screening is one of the reasons why most cases of cancer are detected at an advanced stage, when treatment is more complicated. This is what the Ministry of Health and Social Action recalled during an Awareness Forum for women’s organizations on vaccination once morest cervical cancer held in December 2022. On this occasion, the Minister recalled that cancer of the cervix is the first cause of cancer-related death in women aged 15 to 44 in Senegal, and it is often due to late diagnosis or advanced in 60 to 80% of cases5. It would therefore be appropriate to increase screening campaigns to diagnose cancers at an early stage, to raise public awareness of the importance of regular check-ups with their doctors and to encourage public and private sector players to work together to develop awareness-raising materials aimed at the least informed populations.
When screenings make it possible to diagnose a new case of cancer, patients must have the possibility of being treated with quality treatments, but at affordable costs. On this point, it is crucial that the public authorities and other health actors work together to offer the widest and most appropriate range of treatments to patients in Senegal. In this sense, the Senegalese State has already made a major step forward: the introduction of free chemotherapy treatment for breast and cervical cancers, as well as a 60% reduction in the cost of treatment for other cancers, or the FCfa 500 million increase in grants dedicated to chemotherapy, which have helped to facilitate access to treatment for a greater number of patients.
Nevertheless, private sector actors and more particularly generic drug laboratories must also play their part in the effort. It is their responsibility to offer a wide range of quality treatments that meet the most demanding international standards and the country’s health challenges, while remaining within the reach of Senegal’s patient portfolio throughout the country.
This is the commitment that Biogaran has been pursuing for more than 3 years, the date of its establishment in the country. From 2020, the laboratory has undertaken to offer a range of quality generic drugs to treat several pathologies such as high blood pressure, infections, diabetes, but also cancers including breast, prostate and colorectal cancers. and gastric. These drugs, 91% manufactured in Europe and 51% in France, are offered at fair and accessible prices for patients in Senegal.
While we have highlighted three solutions: prevention, screening, treatment, it should be noted that civil society organizations, such as the Senegalese League Against Cancer (Lisca), are intended to play a role in each of these levers and that their mission will be reinforced by the help of private partners. For example, a donation of oncology drugs was made in 2021 by the Biogaran laboratory to Lisca, in the presence of Sem Macky Sall, and enabled the organization to redistribute these drugs free of charge to cancer patients. An action that illustrates the capacity for cooperation of all health actors and partners in Senegal, for effective patient care.
It is only in this way, with the immediate and coordinated action of all the stakeholders – public authorities, non-governmental organizations, health professionals and private sector players – that we will be able to fight effectively once morest these pathologies which pose a heavy health, social and economic burden on Senegal, as everywhere in Africa.
Dr Fatma GUENOUNE
President of the Senegalese League once morest Cancer (Lisca)
Emmanuel LE DOEUFF
Director of International Operations of Biogaran
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