The Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Professor Benjamin Jabez Botwe Nyarko has revealed that cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the country.
According to Prof. Nyarko, childhood cancer is one of the rising trends in the cancer family in Ghana while a population of over 30.8 million still continue to struggle with radiotherapeutics centers to fight the disease.
Prof. Nyarko said Ghana has only three radiotherapeutic centers with two of them been for the government, Korle-Bu and Komfo Anoyke Teaching Hospitals and Sweden Ghana, a private facility.
“So what it means is that every 10m Ghanaians are to one radiotherapeutic center.”
He added that GAEC has since proposed for the establishment of a radiotherapeutic center in Tamale to cater for the northern belt but that vision is yet to see any progress because no organisation or body has taken it upon itself to build such facility.
“As I speak to you, patience in the northern belt of the country who needs radiotherapy treatment have to be transported from to the middle belt that is Kumasi or the southern part that is Accra,” the Director General of GAEC stated.
He said because Ghana don’t have radiotherapeutic centers to research into the main causes of cancer, it is yet unknown the main causes of the disease in Ghana whether it is attributed to eating pattern or change of environmental and the fact that these cancers are not detected early.
Prof. Nyarko made this at the sideline of a sod-cutting ceremony by the Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie for the construction of an ultra-modern Pediatric Hospital under the theme ‘Legacy of Hope.’
On the issue of whether Ghana have statistics on cancer death rate, he said Ghanaians still don’t register at the various health centers and even when they die from cancer, attribution is made to gods and deities.
He said as plans to ensure that Ghanaians get good healthcare, GAEC decided to released 4.44-acre land to the Catholic Dioceses of Accra for the construction of a second children hospital to augment the existing one with special emphasis on paediatric.
Speaking to the Republic Press, the outgoing GAEC director appealed to cooperate Ghana, individuals, churches and organisations to take keen interest in establishing a radiotherapeutics centers across the country to help fight the increases in cancer cases.
He said Ghana at least needs 10 radiotherapeutics centers to help fight and manage cancer cases and also improve research work into the causes of the diseases and it rising trend in the country.
