Kenya: Study Finds Cost, Distance Delay Childhood Cancer Care in Kenya
A study by Gertrude's Children's Hospital and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital reveals that financial barriers and long travel distances significantly delay childhood cancer diagnosis in Kenya. The findings emphasize that low awareness and high costs prevent many children from receiving timely care.
Why it matters
The study highlights critical healthcare disparities in low-income countries, where survival rates for childhood cancer are significantly lower than in high-income nations.
Nairobi - Financial constraints, long distances to specialist hospitals and limited awareness of childhood cancer are delaying diagnosis and treatment for children in Kenya, a study by Gertrude's Children's Hospital and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has found.
The preliminary findings show that more than 70 percent of caregivers interviewed live in households earning less than Sh20,000 a month, while about half are unemployed. The study found that gaps in insurance cover and treatment costs remain major obstacles, even among families with some form of health financing.
Kenya records about 3,000 new childhood cancer cases annually. The World Health Organisation says fewer than 30 percent of children with cancer survive in low- and middle-income countries, compared with more than 80 percent in high-income countries.
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