ZAMBIAN EXPERIENCE BY BENEDICT AKIMANA

I am excited to share my travel experience to Zambia to represent the International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS) at the Zambia National Stakeholder Workshop on Childhood Cancer which took place on February 13, 2020. I would like to thank IPOS for making my travel possible on short notice and St Jude Children’s Hospital for hosting me.

The meeting was well attended with representatives from the Zambia ministry of health, WHO country representative, International Atomic Energy Association, International Society of Paediatric Oncology, childhood cancer survivors and clinicians from neighboring African countries and world over.

The goal of the workshop was to connect National priorities to commitments and global targets. Objectives were; to summarise current landscape and priorities for cancer control in children and adolescents in Zambia, introduce the concepts of WHO CURE All and defining core projects to accelerate progress for children and adolescents with cancer in Zambia between 2020-2023.

The day’s event was very successful with the various stakeholders affirming their commitment towards ensuring that every child and adolescent with cancer has access to adequate treatment and care. Among the highlights was a testimony from a cancer survivor who shared her experience through the treatment process in India, she noted how difficult it was for her losing most of her friends on the ward, how her mother had to act strong, yet deep down she saw how distressed and helpless she was but had to soldier on!

Notably, the psychosocial well-being of persons with cancer is not given as much attention especially in our African setting, but we are happy with the direction that IPOS has taken to support psycho-oncology in LMIC. I am happy to inform you that beginning of February the Zambian psychiatry team has started ward rounds to the cancer wards. Kudos!