Women waiting to be screened for cervical cancer at a hospital in the Zimbabwean capital Harare. Zimbabwe has rising cancer cases and deaths the detection of the disease often comes too late. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS
By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Jul 29 2024 (IPS)
Earlier this year, then 46-year-old Lydia Musundiwa, based in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, was diagnosed with colon cancer, which, already at an advanced stage, killed her in less than two months.
Now, Landeni, her 49-year-old widower, has to contend with the burden of looking after their three children single-handedly.
In Zimbabwe, a lack of cancer awareness and radiotherapy treatment is problematic, as cancer is only picked up in the late stages.
Based on the Global Cancer Observatory data, four years ago, Zimbabwe reported 16,083 new cases of cancer and 10,676 deaths due to the disease.
On X, formerly Twitter, Hopewell Chin’ono, a renowned Zimbabwean freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker with thousands of followers on his handle, has gone on record protesting the ravages of cancer in the Southern African nation, which he calls a “carefree” regime.
“Zimbabwe doesn’t have a single working radiotherapy cancer treatment machine. If you get cancer in Zimbabwe today, it’s a death sentence. You will die,” Chin’ono said.
The Zimbabwean government last year came out in the state media claiming it had purchased new, advanced radiotherapy machines used to treat cancer.
However, appearing before the country’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care last year in March, Zimbabwe’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Jasper Chimedza, said the country had only a single functional radiotherapy machine to service all the country’s cancer patients.
As a result, many Zimbabweans, like Lydia, have had the disease detected at an advanced stage, resulting in a painful demise.
Unable to afford private healthcare, Zimbabwe’s cancer patients, both young and old, very often die without treatment.
One such young patient is 22-year-old Tangai Chaurura, who suffers from liver cancer and, doctors told him the cancer is already at stage four. His brother, Mevion, says Chaurura is now only receiving home-based care.
“We are just waiting for his final day. We can’t lie to ourselves that he will live given his dire condition now unless a miracle happens,” Chaurura’s brother, Mevion, told IPS.
There are no recorded statistics for the young people battling cancer in this Southern African nation, but the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry’s latest statistics show that 7,841 new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2018.
Then, the majority of the cancers recorded were cervical cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.
However, the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe says that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.
“There are quite a number of myths and misconceptions about cancer and that is one of the reasons why people think that having cancer is actually a death sentence, but at the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe, we know that is not true,” the association’s information research and evaluation officer, Lovemore Makurirofa, told IPS.
Makurirofa said cancers were increasing every year in Zimbabwe and these, to him, were officially recorded cases at public hospitals, with many other cancer cases going unnoticed.
As cancer ravages many in Zimbabwe, Makurirofa said the answer lies in “leading a healthy lifestyle where people have a good diet and exercise.”
A Zimbabwean government health official said many people were succumbing to cancer because of the late detection of the disease.
Last year, in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the World Health Organization launched an initiative to support better access to breast and cervical cancer detection, treatment and care services.
Then, remarking at the initiative, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: “Early detection is a key contributor to better cancer treatment outcomes. With this approach, we aim to bolster the role of primary health care services to help avert the excess mortality of African women from preventable cancers.”
The WHO, however, says that limited access to early detection, diagnosis, and treatment services, as well as a lack of awareness of the disease, have made early detection difficult throughout Africa and Zimbabwe in particular.
With Zimbabwe not spared, based on the 2018 Global Survey of Clinical Oncology Workforce, a single oncologist provides care for between 500 and 1000 patients across many African countries, which is up to four times the International Atomic Energy Agency recommendation of 200 to 250 patients per oncologist.
Zimbabwean cancer activists like Bakie Padzaronda, based in New Jersey in the USA, have said cancer treatment in Zimbabwe is on the expensive side, making it unaffordable for many.
“Medication and treatment must not be as punitive as they are today. It needs to be affordable and we expect the government to look into this seriously by subsidizing the costs of treatment. Hospitals must be equipped with proper and modern medical equipment,” Padzaronda told IPS.
But as cancer cases keep rising in Zimbabwe, cancer experts like Michelle Madzudzo have said the country’s growing aging population and urbanization contribute to the disease.
“The rise in cancer cases can be attributed to aging populations, urbanization and changes in lifestyle,” Madzudzo told IPS. “In our country, cancer mortality rates are high due to various factors, which include late detection and diagnosis.”
Founder and president of Talk Cancer Zimbabwe, an organization whose mandate is to help improve cancer awareness, Madzudzo is a Zimbabwean radiation therapist.
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How youth-led solutions are shaping the future of early childhood education. Credit: United Nations
By Robert Jenkins and Kevin Frey
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 29 2024 (IPS)
Around the world, young people are driving change to ensure our youngest learners get the best start in life.
In rural Kenya, Aisha, a young female entrepreneur trained through a UNICEF-supported programme, has started her own Early Childhood Education (ECE) centre. This centre provides quality early learning to over 50 children and creates jobs for other young women as teachers and support staff.
The impact of Aisha’s work is profound: more children are ready for school, and more young women in her community are economically empowered.
More than 4,000 miles away, in a densely populated informal settlement in Dhaka, Rahim, a young entrepreneur, demonstrates that entrepreneurship and early childhood education are opportunities for all youth to participate in.
Using training and seed funding from UNICEF he has established an early childhood education centre, offering flexible hours and affordable fees. His centre has become an invaluable resource for working parents looking for quality early learning for their children while also employing young people from the local community.
Through the efforts of young people like Aisha and Rahim, a brighter future is being forged for the world’s children, one young entrepreneur at a time.
Right now, more than half of the world’s youngest learners — 175 million children — lack access to early childhood education.
Addressing gaps in early childhood education can enhance school readiness and help combat the persistent cycle of low achievement and high dropout rates that affect children who fall behind in these formative years — a pattern of underachievement which follows children into adulthood.
Youth-led entrepreneurial initiatives offering early learning services can be a game changer in addressing these gaps.
Mobilizing the power of youth to expand early childhood care and education services not only addresses the critical gaps in education access but also showcases the tremendous impact of investing in initiatives that could transform the future of 267 million young people globally, who are not in employment, education, or training.
Skilling young men and women as providers of early childhood services generates livelihood options and decent jobs for educated youth. With expanded early childhood education, young parents can also pursue their own education and career goals.
Young entrepreneurs bring fresh perspectives, energy, and a deep understanding of the local context, making them well-positioned to drive improvements in early learning services. With the right training and support, they can create sustainable solutions to specific needs and become vital pillars and champions of early childhood education in their communities – building a brighter tomorrow, with innovative solutions today!
Skilling for Success
UNICEF and Generation Unlimited are dedicated to empowering young entrepreneurs with comprehensive skills and scaling the establishment of high-quality early learning centres. Initiatives such as the UNICEF’s Venture Fund and Innovation Challenge, and Generation Unlimited’s imaGen Ventures Youth Challenge have been effective in building young people’s life skills as well as a blend of entrepreneurial, management and financial skills required to establish and run a successful enterprise.
When these skills are combined with further training on play-based learning and parental engagement strategies, young entrepreneurs can ensure their early childhood education services follow age-appropriate learning strategies and effectively engage parents in the learning process, thereby bolstering enrollment and caregiver involvement in school activities, events, and projects.
Numerous success stories exemplify the transformative impact of these programmes. In South Africa, UNICEF and Generation Unlimited have partnered with the University of Pretoria, and Price Waterhouse Coopers to establish the Mamelodi Business Hub, training young South Africans in micro-business management and financial literacy.
Young entrepreneurs from this initiative have founded the Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori project to expand access to early childhood education and care in rural areas. Applying a similar approach in a humanitarian context, UNICEF partnered with the Government of Jordan to train young people in Za’atari refugee camp to deliver early learning and psychosocial services in Makani centres.
On World Youth Skills Day, (which is commemorated annually on July 15), let us commit to supporting young people in creating innovative, sustainable solutions for early childhood education. To do this, we must fuel innovations that empower youth with the appropriate skills, support and resources to establish and run high quality services.
Education decision-makers, investors, and governments must adopt supportive strategies, including developing youth-friendly policy frameworks, providing accredited training and mentorship, offering financial support, and fostering networks and partnerships to create a robust support system for young entrepreneurs.
Together, we can build a brighter tomorrow for children, families, and communities worldwide by empowering educated young girls and boys to be the early childhood champions and changemakers of today.
Robert Jenkins is the Global Director, Education and Adolescent Development, UNICEF; Kevin Frey is the CEO of Generation Unlimited
Source: UNICEF
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