Experts from the imPACT Review Mission met with a range of stakeholders and visited different public and private hospitals and primary healthcare centres. (Photo: I. Veljkovikj/IAEA)
Over the course of the visit, the team held meetings with a wide range of national and international cancer stakeholders, including the National Department of Health, provincial health authorities, the national regulatory body responsible for radiation safety, local United Nations agencies, development partners and civil society organizations. They also visited different public and private hospitals and primary healthcare centres and attended the 57th Annual Medical Symposium of the Medical Society of Papua New Guinea, where they led four sessions on cervical and childhood cancer planning, cancer registration and on key findings from the imPACT Review Mission.
One such finding highlighted the need to integrate childhood cancer care more fully into the new national plan for cancer control.
“Considering its favourable prognosis and potential of life years saved, childhood cancer should be prioritized in national cancer control plans. Focusing on early detection and referral as well as building capacity at referral centres can result in more children being diagnosed and cured of their cancer,” said Jeremy Slone, paediatric oncologist from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Another recommendation focused on the need for reliable data to support informed decision-making and resource allocation. “A comprehensive cancer registration and surveillance system is essential to evaluate the success of different cancer control strategies,” confirmed Les Mary from IARC.
“The conduct of this Review is very timely, as we expect its findings to inform the development of Papua New Guinea’s new cancer control programme,” said Javier Romero, IAEA Programme Management Officer for the country. “We also look forward to seeing some of our recommendations implemented under the next cycle of projects that are supported by the IAEA,” he added.
The IAEA has been providing Papua New Guinea with assistance in the field of radiation medicine through its technical cooperation programme since 2012, including through the earlier 2013 imPACT Review.
