We support eight hospitals across the Northwest, Southwest, Littoral, Centre, Adamawa and Far North regions. One of our key partners is the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, which manages several hospitals across many regions of Cameroon, providing healthcare for the rural population of subsistence farmers and their families, as well as the urban populations of cities like Bamenda and Douala. The efforts of paediatric oncology teams in Cameroon have resulted in success in raising survival rates for Burkitt lymphoma from zero to 61% in recent years.
1,000 children
in Cameroon expected to develop cancer each year
61%
survival rate for Burkitt lymphoma
3
parent support organisations
Programme Information
Programme
Centres
- Mbingo Baptist Hospital
- Baptist Hospital Mutengene
- Mboppi Baptist Hospital, Douala
- Banso Baptist Hospital
- Meskine Baptist Hospital, Maroua
- Mother and Child Centre of the Chantal Biya Foundation, Yaoundé
- Mount Mary Catholic Hospital, Buea
- Protestant Hospital Ngaoubela
Twinning
Centres
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Stellenbosch University / Tygerberg Hospital, South Africa
Programme
Leads
Dr Francine Kouya
Dr Glenn Mbah
Programme
Mentors
Rachel Hollis & Dr Susan Picton, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Professor Peter Hesseling, Stellenbosch University
Dr Paul Wharin & Dr Peter McCormick, Beryl Thyer Memorial Africa Trust from the UK
Contact
Nathan Ward, Programme Manager
nathan.ward@worldchildcancer.org
Start Date
Key Activities
- Increase access to curative and palliative treatments for vulnerable children
- Develop affordable and effective treatment protocols for easily treatable malignancies
- Equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide quality care
- Develop the infrastructure needed to provide childhood cancer treatment
- Improve the support for families provided at the hospitals and at home
- Provide families with psychosocial and financial support to help cover out-of-pocket expenses on food, transport, medication and accommodation
Problems
Increasing demand for paediatric oncology services without adequate facilities
Easily treatable childhood cancers being diagnosed more regularly as awareness improves but there is a lack of locally appropriate protocols for most tumours
Late diagnosis of childhood cancers, oftentimes in Stages III and IV
Lack of trained healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat cancer
Lack of funding for diagnostic tests and medicines
Poor accessibility for many children due to distance to the hospitals and poor road infrastructure
Lack of support for families facing long hospital stays including accommodation, food and income generation
Low awareness of cancer and its symptoms amongst communities and frontline health workers
Many families forced to abandon treatment due to long stays from home and catastrophic expenditure
