Working with communities to strengthen healthcare capacity

This means more people than ever before are going to need cancer care. And it means how healthcare systems can build cancer care capacity to meet demand is one of the most pressing healthcare issues of our time.

For many communities across Africa, however, the need to increase cancer care capacity isn’t just a concern for the future – it’s an urgent question for today. Too many people aren’t able to access the care they need, when and where they need it. 

This is why Roche is working in innovative collaborations with communities across Africa to build capacity and support the development of sustainable cancer care for today and tomorrow.

Cancer care is more than treating someone when they are ill. It’s giving people the information they need to reduce their cancer risk, empowering them to know the warning signs to look out for and what to do if they have concerns. It’s providing screening services and making sure people get an accurate and timely diagnosis and the right treatment and care so they can have the best possible chance of survival. 

Cancer care also relies on skilled healthcare professionals, and this is why Roche is partnering with healthcare providers, universities and medical associations across Africa to help upskill and empower healthcare professionals so they can improve care in their communities.

In Ghana, Roche is working with the Ghana Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons to support the training of four new medical oncologists. After two years of specialist training in Kenya, these doctors will return to Ghana to care for patients and, importantly,  pass on their skills and knowledge to local doctors. The aim is to make it possible for more patients to access specialist care without having to travel to the capital, Accra. 

Roche is also working with the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives to address the shortage of trained oncology nurses in the country. Roche has sponsored 36 Oncology Nurse scholarships at the college – and nurses who have studied under the scheme are already out in their communities making a difference.  

“The feedback we are receiving is that these nurses are already having a tremendous impact in terms of supporting patients, managing adverse events, helping with adherence to treatment, and reducing the burden on doctors,” says Dr. Louisa Preko, Medical Director at Roche Ghana. “There are now five oncology centres all over Ghana with well-trained oncology nurses in place, so we are hopeful this will help to support better outcomes for many patients in the coming years.”

Nurses are also at the forefront of efforts to tackle gaps in healthcare availability for communities in South Africa.  

South Africa has one of the highest rates of mortality from breast cancer in the world: five-year survival rates are just 40%, compared to 90% in high-income countries.2 It also has many communities, especially in rural areas, where access to healthcare services is very limited. 

The Unjani Clinic Network is a non-profit organisation that supports female African nurses to set up and run healthcare clinics in areas of great need. Experienced nurse Tebogo Maimela opened her clinic with the support of Unjani in 2022 and now sees around 1,000 patients every month, the majority of whom are women and children. Many of these patients would have delayed or gone without treatment if they hadn’t had the option of visiting Tebogo’s clinic.  

Roche is partnering with Unjani to help fund its work and to support Unjani’s clinics to provide breast cancer screening and education to the women who come through their doors. For example, Tebogo’s clinic is now equipped with a wireless ultrasound imaging machine to make earlier detection and diagnosis of breast cancer possible. If evidence of cancer is found, a referral network allows patients to be seen by a specialist right away.

As well as improving access to care, Unjani is supporting female nurses by giving them the opportunity to set up and run their own clinics – and supporting communities by creating employment.

From working closely with healthcare providers and communities, we know doctors and nurses aren’t the only people who can help boost healthcare capacity. In Kenya, an extraordinary project is training people with visual or hearing impairment to examine and diagnose people with breast or cervical cancer. The project – a partnership between Roche and Amref – was inspired by a similar project in Colombia through which women with visual impairment assist with breast cancer screening thanks to their heightened sense of touch. 

“It is certainly different, but it really works,” says Jackie Wambua, General Manager,  East Africa, Roche. “Not only for the patients, who have a faster diagnosis in a more comfortable setting with another woman, but for the health workers themselves, who now have such a meaningful role in their community.”

Theclinics are also helping Kenyan women get the care they need. 

Roche has been active in Africa for more than 70 years. Today we work with a wide variety of partners across the continent to work towards better healthcare – and better health – for everyone. 

As well as our work in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya we are partnering to support a wide range of initiatives to improve healthcare for communities across our region.