Merck, the world’s oldest
pharmaceutical and Chemical Company in partnership with University of Nairobi
and Kenyatta National Hospital kicked off their first combined diabetes and
cancer campaign in Nairobi, Kenya as part of Merck Cancer Control Program
(MCCP). The program is a new initiative of Merck’s 5 year Capacity Advancement
Program (CAP) which this year for the first time includes cancer.
The CAP initiative
was launched by Merck in 2012 to expand healthcare capacity in the areas of research and development, supply-chain integrity and efficiency,
pharmacovigilance, medical education, and community awareness in Africa and
developing countries.
Through
the newly launched combined community campaign, Merck aims to provide more than
2.000 people with free cancer education and diabetes screening to enable Kenyan
to prevent the diseases and give them advice on how to lead healthier lives. By
2018 Merck aims to reach 100.000 community members through its combined
diabetes and cancer awareness campaigns.
“The Merck Cancer Control Program (MCCP) aims to partner
with top experts across the globe to assist African countries in implementing
comprehensive cancer prevention and control programs,” said Belen Garijo, CEO
of Merck Healthcare. ”This campaign is part of a very ambitious 5 year program,
Merck Cancer Control Program- MCCP which will be rolled out in other African
countries within the year and will be augmented by community awareness and
strong educational programs for medical students across Africa.”
At the
launch of the campaign H.E. Dr Evans Kidero, Governor of Nairobi stated that “Diabetes is a silent deadly disease , and it is growing
rapidly in Kenya and across Africa and developing countries, so as Cancer. Therefore I salute Merck for
coming with the idea of conducting combined Cancer and Diabetes campaign since
there are common risk factors between the two diseases and as well as the rest
of NCDS such as tobacco use, harmful use
of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity”
“The
challenges in health sector are diverse and resources are often limited hence we
need to join hands with reputable partners such as Merck to fight this emerging
threat from NCD like diabetes and Cancer through any support possible
especially creating national capacity and increasing awareness of the threats
and ways to prevent the diseases.” Dr Evans Kidero added
During
her speech at the campaign, Rasha Kelej, Vice President and Head of Global
Business Responsibility and Market development of Merck said “By partnering
with Ministries of Health and universities in Africa to implement our Cancer
Control Program as a new initiative of Merck’s CAP, we hope to quickly achieve
our objective of building cancer healthcare capacities and reducing the
socioeconomic burden of the disease in The continent and across the globe.”
About Merck Cancer Control Program -
MCCP in Africa
“According to World Health Organization (WHO) by 2020
there are expected to be 16 million new cases of cancer every year, 70% of
which will be in developing countries where governments are least prepared to
address the growing cancer burden and where survival rates are often less than
half those of more developed countries.” Rasha kelej added.
Merck Cancer
Control Program (MCCP) is a new initiative of Merck’s 5 year Capacity
Advancement Program (CAP) which now for the first time includes cancer. The main
objective of the program is to advance cancer professional care capacities and
reducing the socioeconomic burden of the disease in Africa and developing
countries.
The Merck
Cancer Control Program (MCCP) aims to partner with top experts across the globe
to assist African countries in implementing comprehensive cancer prevention and
control programs. This program will be rolled out in many African countries
within the year and will be augmented by community awareness and strong
educational programs for medical students across Africa.
More than
900 medical students including undergraduates, postgraduates, trainees,
healthcare providers and oncologists have benefited from the training course
that been provided by MCCP in partnership with, AFROX (Africa Oxford Cancer
Foundation) University of Nairobi, Makerere university, Uganda Cancer Institute,
Muhimbili University and Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania, to address
how to improve access care in African rural areas, its
Merck Cancer
Control Program – MCCP will define several interventions to help overcome some
of the challenges of improving access to cancer care, with the aim to advance
cancer professional capacity therefore reducing the socioeconomic burden of the
disease in Africa and developing countries.
About Capacity Advancement Program (CAP)
Merck CAP is a 5 year program aiming to expand the
professional capacity in developing countries in the areas of research and
development, advocacy building, supply-chain integrity and efficiency,
pharmacovigilance, medical education, and community awareness.
As part of the CAP, by end of 2015, more than 5,000 medical
students in partnership with African universities such as University of
Nairobi, Makerere University, Namibia University and University of Ghana, in
addition to Asian universities such as Maharashtra university, India and University
of Indonesia will benefit from European-accredited clinical chronic diseases
management training, which is seeking to equip them with skills to better
manage and prevent these diseases.
Merck is planning to target more than 19,000 students by
the end of 2018 expanding to more African, Asian, Latin American and Middle
Eastern countries with special focus on non –communicable diseases such as
Diabetes, cancer and fertility management. The program will also kick off
initiatives on building research capacity and improving supply chain in order
to improve patient safety in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment