Bomet County government’s journey to establish an Oncology and Research Center is on its final stage after senior County officials led by County Executive Committee Member (CEC) for Health held a meeting with the National Cancer Institute-Kenya officials led by CEO Dr. Elias Melly to discuss on the actualization of the project.
According to a press release from the Office of the Governor, the consultation meeting between the two stakeholders would serve as a steering committee that would progressively work towards achieving the project’s goal and have a robust facility from where Bomet residents and those from neighbouring counties would get help on matters cancer.
‘Our Journey to establish Bomet Oncology and Research Center has taken a magnificent step following a consultative meeting between the National Cancer Institute-Kenya officials led by CEO Dr. Elias Melly and our team led by CEC Health Services Dr. Joseph Sitonik in Nairobi, earlier on Thursday,’ Read part of the statement.
The task of NCIK will
also include capacity-building county staff by sponsoring some to study Oncology related courses, mobilizing resources, ensuring timely achievement of set timelines, amongst others.
The Institute is the sole entity mandated to certify and approve all Cancer Centres in the country. They also play an integral role in approving the architectural designs and walking the path in the construction of a sound Cancer Centre.
Bomet intends to finalise all the paperwork and meet all the pre-regulations by the end of March this year, so that they embark on initiating the construction of the facility before the end of this fiscal year.
The county has been lurching with a surge of new cases of cancer, driving families to the huge burden of footing bills considering the costs incurred by kin while managing and treating the scourge. The experience not only drains the society financially but also emotionally.
This comes a few days after Governor Hillary Barchok revealed that his administration has deployed a team of Oncol
ogy experts to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, to benchmark on best practices in treatment and management of the disease.
Barchok further revealed that the experts would train with their counterparts in the National Hospital and were expected to import the skills learnt to Longisa Hospital’s cancer section in which several cancer patients were receiving treatment.
Source: Kenya News Agency