16,000 people die of cancer in Afghanistan last year

KABUL (Pajhwok): Around 23,000 people in Afghanistan suffer from cancer and 16000 patients died of the disease last year, Public Health Ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering marking World Cancer Day in Kabul, MoPH services deputy director Habibullah Akhunzada said no new survey had been conducted to know the exact number of cancer patients in the country, but a World Health Organization survey last year showed there were 23,000 cancer patients in Afghanistan.

He said the patients included 10,000 men and 13,000 women and 16,000 people died of the disease in 2022.

He added different types of cancer were common both in men and women in Afghanistan like throat cancer, mouth, breast, lung and stomach.

Akhunzada said according to 2020 global survey, 19 million people around the world were diagnosed with cancer every year and 10 million people died from it each year. According to him, after heart diseases, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world.

He said use of tobacco, physical inactivity, obesity, unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption, infections and air pollution contributed to the risk of cancer.

Avoiding the use of cigarettes and alcohol, losing weight, eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly and timely treatment of some infections and viruses can help prevent cancer, he added.

Dr. Zabihullah Hashimi, the head of the National Cancer Control Program of the Ministry of Public Health, said the National Cancer Control Program was launched seven years ago and currently the Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Center was located in the Jamhoriat Hospital.

There are two other sub-centers in Herat and Balkh provinces related to the program, but these facilities are not enough, he said, adding that  100 to 150 cancer patients visit these centers every day.

He added that Kabul Jamhoriat hospital has 60 beds, Herat hospital has 15 beds and Balkh hospital has 15 beds.

He listed inadequate budget, lack of personnel, medical devices and machines and medicines among problems plaguing the field of cancer treatment and urged the Ministry of Public Health to resolve these problems.

Cancer control and technical department head at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Sadiq Hashimi, told Pajhwok about two weeks ago that the ministry was planning to establish a national center for diagnosis, control and treatment in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the near future.

MoPH spokesman Dr. Sharafat Zaman told Pajhwok  26,000 cancer patients visited the Jamhoriat Hospital in 2022.

According to him, 2,500 of these patients were newly infected with cancer. He said according to information from cancer treatment hospitals, the number of cancer patients is increasing in the country.

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