Ethiopia hosted cancer experts from the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for an imPACT Review in the country last November. A key objective of the mission was to contribute to the renewal of the National Cancer Control Plan — including for childhood cancer — and support the Ministry of Health in expanding regional access to radiation medicine services.
The cancer burden in Ethiopia is significant: of its 120 million population, it is estimated that nearly 80 000 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2022, and 55 000 people died. These numbers are expected to more than double in the next two decades (Globocan 2022). All cancer patients require access to diagnostic imaging to inform their course of treatment, and approximately 50 per cent need access to radiation therapy — currently only possible at three public hospitals in the country. Waiting times are long (sometimes more than a year), and most patients only seek medical help when their cancer is already advanced, reducing their chances of survival. This situation is further compounded by a lack of functioning radiotherapy facilities in neighbouring countries.
The government of Ethiopia is working hard to address this situation, with five additional radiotherapy centres already under construction around the country (Addis Ababa, Gondar, Hawassa, Harar and Mekele). One of these — a comprehensive oncology centre to be integrated into the St Paul Millennium Medical College’s Hospital in Addis Ababa — is being built through a public-private partnership, the first of its kind in cancer care in Ethiopia.
