Uganda is sending 400 cancer patients to Kenya for radiation treatment after its only radiation machine broke down beyond repair.
Kenya has only three public radiation machines available at Kenyatta National Hospital, and there is also a backlog of thousands of people waiting for treatment.
However, Uganda’s Health Minister said the country’s patients are unlikely to compete with Kenyans at KNH but they will go to the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi.
“Government will as soon as immediately transport 400 cancer patients to Aga Khan hospital for treatment. Government will transport and offer other necessities to all those that will be referred to Aga Khan hospital,” the minister of state for Health, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, told an afternoon parliamentary session.
Uganda is likely to spend about Sh100 million at Aga Khan. The average cost of one radiotherapy session in Nairobi’s private hospitals is Sh10,000 and many patients require up to 25 sessions.
Source: The Star, Kenya – The Monitor Uganda – NTV Kenya
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