- The Internationla Atomic Energy Agency Director General was in Africa last week, to reaffirm the IAEA’s commitment to advancing development goals through nuclear technologies, with a particular focus on cancer care.
Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Ethiopia, Rwanda, Malawi, Kenya and Liberia to engage with local leaders and make tangible contributions to their cancer strategies, as well as discussing other ways the IAEA can support development goals such as energy and food security.
Cancer causes more deaths in Africa than malaria and tuberculosis combined. While half of cancer patients require radiotherapy at some stage, 70 per cent of Africans do not have access to these services. By 2040, annual cancer cases on the continent are expected to double, with death rates exceeding the global average by almost a third.
“As wars and conflicts rage elsewhere, Africa’s needs don’t stop. Cancer is a top cause of death here, taking around 2000 lives a day. Three years ago, here at the African Union, we launched Rays of Hope. Today, this initiative is real, bringing cancer care to countries that had none,” said the Director General during his visit to the continent.
Director General Grossi talks to reporters about the Rays of Hope initiative to expand cancer care upon his arrival in Monrovia, Liberia. (Photo: K. Laffan/IAEA)
Three Years of Rays of Hope
The IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative aims to widen access to life-saving cancer care where it is needed most; by helping low- and middle-income countries establish or expand medical imaging, radiotherapy and nuclear medicine services. Since its launch in 2022, more than 90 countries have requested support under the initiative.
Malawi has already built it’s first-ever public radiotherapy centre (see below), while Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti and Lesotho are also in the process of establishing radiotherapy services. Linear accelerators for radiotherapy have been delivered to Kenya, Malawi, Niger and Paraguay. More than 80 cancer care professionals have been trained around the world, and 12 Rays of Hope Anchor Centres have been set up.
Ethiopia: Rays of Hope Forum
The Director General’s trip began in Addis Ababa at the Rays of Hope Forum, a gathering of countries taking stock of achievements made and planning vital next steps.
During the forum, the IAEA and St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital also entered a significant new partnership to address inequality in global childhood cancer care.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
