The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has launched the second phase of the City Cancer Challenge, introducing four innovative projects to enhance cancer care solutions across the city.

The initiative will focus on continuity of care through improved equipment maintenance, aiming to reduce downtime and implementation of multi-modal treatments.

The projects will ensure timely breast cancer diagnosis, early cancer detection by empowering primary healthcare centers, and community-level interventions to improve patient outcomes.

The Global Cancer Observatory (GCO) reported that over 15,000 people lose their lives annually, most of them victims of breast, liver, cervix and prostate cancers.

Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, is making great strides in improving its cancer care and streamlining the patient’ journey from a point of diagnosis to treatment.

The City Cancer Challenge initiative (C/Can), implemented in 2018, mobilized a multisectoral group of local stakeholders to collaboratively assess, design and implement cancer care solutions that are tailored to the context of the Kumasi health system.

The intervention has increased the chances of survival for childhood cancer patients by bringing timely referrals for suspected cases from 1% to 25%.

According to the City Manager for City Cancer Challenge Foundation, Abubakari Jalui, the success of building from phase two, has expanded expectations for the phase two implementations.

He discloses the second phase offers a wide range of opportunities: bringing four unique projects with 17 outputs.

“The second phase offers a wide range of opportunities: bringing four unique projects with 17 outputs. The first one is the Continuity of cancer care which is dedicated to the equipment maintenance and maintenance culture in the bigger facilities assisting with constant equipment breakdown to manage the equipment and have sound maintenance culture in these facilities.

“The second project is on the timely and quality diagnosis of breast cancer. We want to move from the time for quality diagnosis to less than 60 days where breast cancer is diagnosed and reported.

“The third project is on multi-modal treatments that has to do with the MVT platform discussion in terms of the treatment of the patients we are have in Kumasi. Then the fourth project has to do with early detection and early detection platform where we involve primary health care to be able to detect these cancers early enough,” he said.

Healthcare professionals, academia, and civil society gathered at the launch of the City Cancer Challenge initiative phase two to improve care at the regional level.

Coordinating Director of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Francis Dwira Darko, who chairs the C/Can Kumasi initiative, says the assembly is committed to working with stakeholders to heighten impact of the outlined projects.

“A lot of projects developed were development plans, guidelines and treatment, quality control, and quality assurance. In the first phase we produced a lot documents in terms of development plans for pediatric oncology, elective care, development plan for exchange program between surgeons from Kumasi, Tata Memorial Hospital and Aberdeen Royal institute.

“So the success of the first phase contribute actually contributed to the second phase. And I want to assure that the KMA is committed to the fight against cancer, and will engage stakeholder for an accelerated effort to make the second phase more impactful,” he said.