Cancer has rapidly emerged as one of Kenya’s most pressing public health threats, now ranking as the second leading cause of death in health facilities, overtaking cardiovascular diseases.
According to the 2024 Kenya Vital Statistics Report, cancer accounts for 7.9% of all hospital deaths, with women being disproportionately affected.
Among female patients, cancer is now the top cause of registered deaths – a trend that health experts say demands immediate, coordinated intervention.
The National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCI-K) reports that more than 44,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed annually, and over 29,000 people succumb to the disease each year, translating to at least 75 deaths per day.
The most prevalent cancers in Kenya include breast, cervical, prostate, esophageal, and colorectal cancers, which together represent nearly half of the total cancer burden.
During a media breakfast ahead of the Second National Cancer Summit, scheduled for July 27–30 in Nairobi, NCI-K Board of Trustees Chairperson Dr. Timothy Olweny raised the alarm over the escalating crisis.
He pointed to critical challenges including underfunding, high treatment costs, limited specialized personnel, and a clear urban-rural disparity in healthcare access.
“There is a strong link between poverty and ill health – cancer being both a cause and a consequence,” Dr. Olweny stated. “We urgently need holistic, patient-centered care and aggressive public education on early detection and prevention.”
Adding to the call for action, NCI-K CEO Dr. Elias Melly urged the government to ban carcinogenic chemicals commonly used in farming, saying the Ministry of Agriculture must take a central role in cancer prevention.
Despite the government’s progress in establishing chemotherapy centers and proposing community health worker programs, over 70% of cancer cases are still diagnosed at late stages, severely limiting treatment outcomes.
Esophageal cancer, in particular, has one of the highest mortality rates, with nine out of ten patients not surviving. Meanwhile, cervical cancer – largely preventable through the HPV vaccine continues to claim around nine lives every day.
With the Second National Cancer Summit approaching, expectations are high that stakeholders will agree on urgent, actionable strategies.
The summit will bring together policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and civil society to address systemic gaps, push for more inclusive cancer care, and drive forward reforms like the Social Health Authority (SHA), which could improve access to essential treatment and medications.
