FRERE & WALTER SISULU HOST GLOBAL HEALTH DELEGATION ON CANCER REVIEW MISSION

Frere Hospital and iYunivesithi Walter Sisulu hosted a delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of South Africa’s imPACT in-country mission aimed at reviewing cancer control services and identifying areas requiring greater investment and support.

The mission was conducted in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The delegation visited facilities across Mthatha and East London to engage healthcare professionals and contribute toward the development of South Africa’s National Cancer Control Plan.

Head of Clinical Governance at Frere, Dr Andrew Miller highlighted the significant oncology burden faced by the province, particularly in rural areas where access to specialised healthcare remained limited.

“Often the patients that make it to care just represent the tip of the iceberg of the need. For every patient we see here, there’s a significant number of patients that are never able to make it to our service,” Miller said.

He noted that Frere Hospital serviced a population of approximately 3.2 million, across the central region of the province, with many patients travelling from districts beyond the hospital’s official coverage area.

Despite these challenges, he said the province continued to make strides in expanding access to oncology care through multidisciplinary collaborations.

Academic Head of Radiation Oncology at Walter Sisulu, Dr Zukiswa Jafta said the visit created an opportunity to highlight both the progress and realities of oncology care in the province.

“We’re looking at appreciation of the challenges as well as the achievements we’ve managed to achieve with the limited resources we have,” said Jafta.

She added that the engagements could potentially open doors for future research and training collaborations between local and international institutions.

“I’d like the university [Walter Sisulu] to collaborate on training and research, share research platforms, papers, get researchers coming here, and enrich our training and teaching platform. Our undergraduates should benefit from training in cancer from their undergraduate years,” she remarked.

Dr Surbhi Grover from the University of Pennsylvania, explained that the mission was intended to support South Africa’s long-term cancer control planning and not function as an assessment exercise.

“The goal really is to provide some national-level ideas to the Ministry on where the investments could be pointed towards. The more information we can get, the more helpful that would be,” said Grover.

Director for Internationalisation and Partnerships at Walter Sisulu, Dr Mzolisi Payi, welcomed the delegation and expressed the university’s commitment to partnerships of this nature.

“Our role as the university, besides the support that we provide for clinical support, is do a lot of research around cancer and other medical conditions,” said Payi.

He added: “We’re hoping that the delegation will discover a lot in their engagements that will help enhance our activities as we provide programmes that will assist our communities.”

By Yanga Ziwele