Representatives from seven African countries discussed the planning and delivery of sustainable radiotherapy services at a meeting at the IAEA earlier this month. Topics covered included technical and procedural advice for workforce development, planning and procurement of appropriate infrastructure and equipment, as well as safety and security considerations for radiotherapy services.
“Our goal is to strengthen IAEA Member States’ capacity to ensure radiotherapy facilities remain operational to treat a high number of cancer patients in an effective, safe and sustainable manner,” said Dazhu Yang, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation.
Each delegation consisted of a ministry of health policy coordinator, leading radiation oncologist, procurement planning officer and a representative from the national nuclear safety regulator.
“Each country has its own challenges in addressing cancer,” said Shashi Sewsurn, Head of Radiation and Clinical Oncology at the Victoria Hospital in Mauritius. “Through the collective wisdom at this meeting from a diverse range of cancer and regulatory professionals, we have shared how we have approached programmes and activities in different ways and offered new insights and solutions which can be adapted for our individual needs and our situation. One helpful tool is IAEA’s imPACT Review of our cancer control capacities, which is scheduled for December. We look to its findings to assess whether we are on the right track with the development of our new comprehensive cancer centre,” she said.
