Nabakooba hails UCI, Muhika schools for fighting cancer

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has hailed the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) and Muhika Junior Schools for championing the fight against cancer, one of the killer diseases in the country.

Nabakooba who was presiding over the launch of the school’s play, Passion of the Christ under a theme ‘Lets Walk the Journey Together’ aimed at fundraising for children with cancer on April 1 at the school in Kira said everyone is a candidate for cancer. She commended the cancer Institute for allowing to be part of the occasion, saying most times, schools are left out in the fight and sensitisation is not mostly done in school communities. “We rarely see you involved in school activities but here we are to learn but also check ourselves on matters of cancer. I want to thank you for coming to speak out boldly and publicly about the disease. I want to encourage you to reach out to so many people in the community, even in rural areas outside Kampala,” she said.

The minister explained that most people are ignorant and lack information on what it takes, what can be done when someone has cancer yet the disease can be prevented and healed if detected early but the information flow is the problem.
“Research has it that the challenges faced by cancer patients in Uganda result in enormous delays in initiation and continuation of cancer treatment. These challenges are often a result of the poor social-economic status of the patients, inadequate infrastructure for cancer care and inefficiencies in the health care system.”
She added: “

According to research the most commonly registered cancer over a 25 year period was Kaposi Sarcoma. Still, according to research conducted in 2022 by the Uganda Cancer Institute, a public medical care facility, in Uganda an estimated 33,000 Ugandans are diagnosed with cancer every year, of which, only about 7400 make it for care at the cancer institute.”

Nabakooba explained that the leading risk factors for preventable cancers are smoking tobacco, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, air pollution, among other factors, including some chronic infections. “I call upon Ugandans to give tremendous support to cancer patients. Against that background, allow me to thank the Rotarians world over, especially in Uganda, for the support being rendered to cancer patients by starting the Rotary Cancer Run in 2012, as one of the major fundraising vehicles of the Uganda Rotary Cancer Program.”

She thanked Muhiika Junior Schools, for having joined the rest of the world to fight against the disease and providing a holistic education, where learners get practical based education.

She shared how she was not privileged to go through schools with enough facilities to have the opportunity to learn while seeing things physically unlike children in Muhiika who have the chance to learn practically at an early age. “I have toured the school and I have learnt a lot, parents this is a good school, they have a good environment and the place is spacious. As a government, we want to thank you (the directors) for investing in the education sector, I want to commend H.E the President and NRM for having allowed people to invest in education. We have seen a number of schools being started and these have contributed to the economy and wellbeing of our communities.”

She added: “I trust officials from the ministry of education will have to affirm and also pledge their support to see that what they have seen today continues but also guide you on how to have the best of the best for people in this division.”

The minister cautioned parents who get so busy and end up forgetting their parenting roles, saying this has bred a number of vices in morality today.
“Amidst the challenges, begin sparing time off to talk to children, they are young but they know a lot and through interaction with them, you can dig out a lot of information from them. As they return home for Easter Holidays, spare time and talk with them, guide them in addition to what the teachers do. It will help you have children that are morally upright, God fearing and those that know the right thing to be done.”

She thanked teachers for keeping children and putting in energy and commitment to ensure learners get better.

The event was attended by Prossy Mbabazi, a commissioner of parliament, Kira Division mayor and the team from the ministry of education.