Kenya is facing a shortage of facilities and experts who can take care of patients with life threatening illness.
Nairobi Hospice Chairman Dr Sobbie Mulindi indicates that the government is currently in the process of implementing guidelines for the management of life limiting illnesses.
He says that the need for palliative care is enormous not only in Kenya and the region but in the whole world.
Dr Mulindi adds that it is cheaper to offer palliative care in the community settings rather than in hospitals.
“A number of prominent Kenyans have come out in public to disclose they have cancer, an act that has led to increased awareness of the disease,” says Mulindi.
He adds that a shortage of trained personnel and equipment has made palliative care beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
Mulindi notes that cancer gets to the body through the food chain or exposure to pollutants and electronic waste adding that there is need to manage industrial wastes.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Kenya alongside pneumonia, HIV, and heart diseases.
Nairobi hospice can only cater for 6,000 patients annually whereas over 80 percent of cancer patients are beyond curative interventions at the time of diagnosis and palliative care remains the only option for these patients.
Read the full article on the Coastweek.com website
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