On February 4, 2025, the Mathiwos Wondu-YeEthiopia Cancer Society (MWECS), in collaboration with the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), ALERT Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, the Ministry of Health (MoH), and other key stakeholders, successfully commemorated World Cancer Day under the global theme “United by Unique.” The event featured a high-level workshop that provided critical insights into the global and national cancer landscape, with a particular focus on breast, cervical, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers. During the session, Mr. Zelalem Mengistu, Program Director at MWECS, presented an overview of the organization’s ongoing efforts in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention and control, patient support, capacity building, and sustainability. He highlighted MWECS’s significant contributions, working under the leadership of MoH and in close collaboration with key partners, to strengthen Ethiopia’s cancer prevention and control strategies.
As part of the commemoration, the Ethiopian Multinational Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Control Project, implemented by MWECS with support from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF), played a key role in supporting this year’s World Cancer Day activities. This groundbreaking project is aimed to strengthening Ethiopia’s lung cancer health system, raising awareness, enhancing capacity building, facilitating early diagnosis and treatment, and improving palliative care and survivorship support.
Dr. Biadglign, a Family Health Specialist at ALERT Hospital, delivered a presentation on lung cancer epidemiology in Ethiopia and the joint efforts of MWECS and ALERT Hospital is doing to address this growing public health concern under this project. He emphasized that the lung cancer project has a broader impact in awareness creation, screening, diagnosis and treatment related supports. Even, it further helps identify other chest-related complaints beyond its primary focus, allowing patients to receive timely and appropriate treatment. In this event, informative fliers prepared on lung cancer were distributed to participants to enhance public education and awareness.
Furthermore, as part of the lung cancer project, MWECS, in collaboration with ALERT Hospital, has planned a lung cancer awareness and prescreening campaign at ALERT Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, running from February 5 to 7, 2025. This initiative serves as a crucial platform for promoting early detection by increasing awareness about lung cancer.
The event concluded with remarks from Dr. Selamawit Ayele of the Ministry of Health, who commended the collaborative efforts in cancer prevention and the Ministry’s commitment to supporting such initiatives that promote and enhance public health awareness, early detection, and improve the quality of care and outcome.
A significant topic of discussion was the total number of health facilities to be included in the plan. Initially, the proposal was to cover 50 primary hospitals by the end of 2025, but it has been decided to increase this number to 150 facilities. Concerns regarding resource allocation were addressed, with suggestions to strengthen partnerships with the Ministry of Health and other relevant stakeholders to secure the necessary resources.
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