Following an assessment of the country’s capacities and needs in cancer control conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June this year, Minister of Health Jacqueline Mikolo said, “This review has been very timely, as important decisions are going to be made. Our country aims at being a centre of reference for cancer control in the whole region.”
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 2,200 new cancer cases were detected in 2012 while 1,500 people died of the disease. Preliminary findings from the assessment indicate that these numbers have most likely increased in recent years. The WHO’s Representative to the Republic of the Congo, Fatoumata Diallo, underlined the urgency of the situation stating that “cancer must be recognized as a national priority”.
The Government requested the IAEA to conduct an imPACT review at the end of 2016. Such a review is often the first step that a country takes to better understand the extent of its cancer needs and to obtain an expert assessment of its current capacities to address this disease.