The National Cance Centre (NCC) is a charitable trust whose mission is to be establish a center of excellence in Malawi for preventive, curative and palliative cancer treatment. The NCC Board of Trustees and Board of Governors is comprised of specialist doctors, revered academicians, business leaders, distinguished lawyers, and philanthropists who epitomize its guiding principles of innovation, national/international collaboration, high ethical and scientific standards, compassion, leadership and fiscal responsibility.
NCC will be an outpatient radiotherapy and chemotherapy referral centre, catering for both fee paying and non paying patients
New cancer cases are rising quickly and the proportion of cancer patients living with cancer and requiring continuous treatment is rising even faster. Data from the Cancer Registry shows that Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) is the leading cancer in males, while cervical cancer is the leading malignancy in females, followed closely by KS. Burkitt's Lymphoma is the leading malignancy in children accounting for 60% of cases with KS again following. Kaposi Sarcoma is the most common HIV associated malignancy and causes a great deal of disfigurement and pain. Chemotherapy, when available, is very expensive $1400 per treatment beyond the reach of the average Malawian who is earning an income of US $40 per annum. Radiotherapy is a more affordable and appropriate palliative modality for KS patients.
It is envisioned that the NCC will be an outpatient radiotherapy and chemotherapy referral centre, catering for both fee paying and non paying patients. It is foreseen that this facility will operate as a public private partnership between the Trust and the Ministry of Health. The proposed project will provide a cost efficient national and regional cancer centre drawing patients from around Malawi and neighboring countries. The National Cancer Centre is also expected to become a centre for learning, incorporating resources such as a joint hospital/cancer centre library and learning centre, along with facilities to enable the development of partnerships with nursing and medical schools. A site near Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital has been identified which is favorable as, it provides optimal accessibility and proximity to the central teaching hospital, 2 major private hospitals, medical school, and high tech diagnostic equipment.
The fundraising launch of the NCC took place in February 2007 and was presided over by His Excellency the President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika and the then Minister of Health, Marjorie Ngaunje. The estimated cost of the project is $ 6.65 million with over 60% allocated to the purchase of high tech radiotherapy equipment. Almost two years on and not much progress has been made since the fundraising launch. The National Cancer Centre recognizing that such a facility needs to benefit all and not only those that can afford it, has proposed to the Ministry of Health an agreement, where the Ministry of Health will cover the costs of non-paying patients, similar to the service level agreement the Ministry has with CHAM. Discussions on this are inconclusive despite a report from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommending the establishment of a treatment facility.
His Excellency the President of Malawi Bingu wa Mutharika speaking during the fundraising launch of the National Cancer Centre
Trustes and board members of the Natiional Cancer Centre