Awareness creation alone not enough for cancer management – Minister
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Deputy Minister of Health, Alexander K. K. Abban, has called on stakeholders within the health industry in Ghana and across Africa to find ways of making cancer treatment affordable.
He said it was about time that stakeholders including governments, pharmaceutical companies, civil society organizations, among others, found ways of making cancer treatment affordable for patients.
According to him, there was the need for stakeholders to move beyond awareness creation to confronting the financial challenges of cancer treatment.
He made the call in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of Janssen Ghana’s prostate cancer patient support programme dubbed: “Hope Accelerated.”
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“There is no point in creating all the awareness on cancers, getting people to become aware of their cancer status and yet being confronted with the reality that they cannot afford to do anything about it”, he said.
The call for increased investment comes as Ghana records disturbing cases of prostate cancer.
According to a report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Globocan) in 2018, about 2132 men are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Ghana.
Out of the above-mentioned figure, 1,098 men die annually from the disease.
The Deputy Minister urged therefore that “we must begin to think of and treat cancers as we think of and treat diseases like malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.”
He stressed that payers must begin to cover as many cancers as possible in their benefit packages, adding that “we must finance the training of more healthcare professionals to acquire the needed skills to manage cancer patients”.
About Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson & Johnson
Janssen is headquartered in Beerse, Belgium and is the pharmaceutical arm of by Johnson & Johnson. The company was established in 1953 by Paul Janssen.
The company is made up of more than 30,000 people working hard to prevent, treat, cure and stop some of the most devastating and complex diseases of our time. From heart disease to HIV, Alzheimer’s disease to cancer, they are committed to issues that touch everyone’s lives.
The mission of Janssen is to transform individual lives and fundamentally change the way diseases are managed, interpreted, and prevented. The company believes that challenging something is the best way to change it. So every day, in more than 150 countries, Janssen brings cutting-edge science and the most creative minds in the industry together to think differently about diseases. The company aims not only to innovate but also to empower people with the tools they need to make informed decisions and achieve the best possible results for their health.
Janssen is looking at a future where the world of healthcare will be challenged by informed and empowered patients. The company works for change that will improve access to medicines: the best available treatment at an affordable price. That’s why Janssen strives to provide access to effective and affordable medicines and related healthcare services to the people who need them.
The company is developing treatments for patients in six important therapeutic areas of healthcare: Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Immunology, Infectious Diseases & Vaccines, Neuroscience, Oncology and Pulmonary Hypertension.
Janssen considers the world as their lab and seeks medical breakthroughs wherever they occur. Their approach to collaboration helps drive their success. By partnering with academic researchers, governments, patient groups, healthcare professionals, and others, the company strives to find answers to some of the most devastating diseases of our time.
The company works with partners at every stage, from early discovery to market access and patient education.
To ensure that commitments are delivered to the people, customers and investors who rely on them, the company works side-by-side with healthcare stakeholders, bringing together experts with the top minds in the field. Together, they look at a future where patients and their families have a new sense of hope.
“We are working toward a common goal – a healthy outcome for each patient. Because ultimately, solving complex problems is about taking a different approach. It’s about how we work and who we work with. It’s about finding the best solutions — and then taking it one step further to help bring those solutions to the people who need them most, wherever they live”.
Janssen collaborates with the world for the health of everyone in it.
