Cancer Claims 44,000 Lives Each Year In Ethiopia, Health Ministry Reports

More than 44,000 people die of cancer each year in Ethiopia, with a rise in the prevalence of certain cancers leading to greater demand for palliative care, according to a Ministry of Health policy document.

The ‘National Strategic Plan for Palliative Care’ attempts to lay out a roadmap that officials hope will improve palliative care—a specialized type of medical care that focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms of serious illnesses—in the country by the end of the decade.

“The need for palliative care in Ethiopia is accelerating rapidly,” it reads.

The number of people with cancer is increasing, according to the document. The annual incidence is around 60,960 cases, with an annual mortality of over 44,000 or nearly 75 percent.

The document notes that non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, are growing more common across Sub-Saharan Africa, with reports predicting incidence rates will be more than 50 percent higher by 2050.

Other reports warn that limited access to healthcare and treatment, inadequate manpower and expertise, a lack of means to diagnose cancer, pharmaceutical shortages or unavailability, and weak health systems will only exacerbate the problem.

“As the population is growing rapidly, it is imperative that the palliative care service needs grow proportionally,” reads the Ministry document.

It highlights that demand for palliative care in Ethiopia is also being driven by HIV/AIDS. More than 600,000 people live with HIV in the country, 8,300 of whom are newly diagnosed. An estimated 11,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2022, according to the document.

The strategy provides a comprehensive implementation framework to increase access to palliative care in Ethiopia by providing quality care for patients living with a life-limiting illness.

The total cost of implementing the National Palliative Care Strategic Plan over the coming five years is estimated at under 166 million Birr, equivalent to around 31 million Birr a year.

Officials plan to leverage resources from the federal government and regional administrations as well as development partners to back the initiative through budgetary allocations, loans, grants, and concessional financing.