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Children receiving cancer treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) are living in pain after the facility run out of crucial cancer drugs.
The hospital has not been supplied with the drugs in the last two months, forcing parents to buy them expensively from private pharmacies while those who can't afford are forced to skip treatment, says a report on Sunday Nation.
There are at least 200 children currently admitted to the pediatric cancer wards at the country's largest public hospital, with majority of them hailing from poor families.
The publication says most of the parents do not have health insurance and cannot afford to buy the expensive drugs which include Vincristine, Doxorubicin, Metacapurine, Allopurinol, Cytoplastin and Cyclophosphamide.
Ms Carol Omondi says she is afraid she might lose her daughter any time if something is not done. Her daughter is suffering from Neuroblastoma cancer.
“For the first two months, the treatment was smooth but the last two months, I have literally been struggling to make ends meet. It is very unfortunate, God forbid that I will lose my child because I can’t afford her treatment,” she tells the Sunday Nation.
She has since taken to social media to plead with well-wishers to help raise money to buy drugs for her daughter.
“Hello Kenyans, I am a mother of a four-year-old girl who is suffering from cancer (Neuroblastoma). I have to be with her at the hospital since her condition cannot allow me to do any work. A tumour has spread all over her body, including the brain and this has since interfered with her eyesight,” she says on Facebook.
“My child has missed the life-saving drugs that are out of stock at the hospital. We are forced to buy but I do not have the money. A tumour is spreading so fast she cannot survive without chemotherapy. Please help me in any way possible to bring my daughter back to life,” She adds.
She says she needs between Sh106,000 and Sh160,000 for a chemotherapy cycle.
The Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations Chairman David Makumi says the pattern of missing drugs is worrying.
“Cancer is not like malaria where one type of treatment cures the disease. If you cannot cater for the full treatment, you would rather do without it,” he says.
KHN Communications Manager Simon Ithai says some cancer drugs are not stocked at the facility.
“What I know is that there are some drugs that we don’t stock in our facility. Send me the names of the drugs and then I will talk to the doctor and call you back,” he told Daily Nation.
Comments
You should lead others by telling us your real name,writing in your mother's language and dressing in Adam's suit for you have not reached the age of covering yourself with cow skin.The real problem is bongolala Kenyans themselves who can afford to pay three people(majambazi Uhuru,Ruto and muuaji Raila) shs 2b.per year for owning trash political parties but cannot purchase medicine for our children.
This happening in a country where one politician is mangamangaring with carloads of money? Mr moneybags where are you when our children are suffering like this?
The money that the ministry of health gave to the now infamous beyond zero scam could have been used to buy the drugs needed to treat these children but who cares about the dying children when there is beyond zero.
To me, the health of the nation is more important than building houses for over crowded Nairobi.people can move and live somewhere.Therefore, we should re evaluate our priorities,and put our health concerns at the top. What good is it to have a big,or good house when you are in great pain,or wont be there pretty soon.
So what went wrong? Did somebody steal the medication? Was poor inventory records given? Cannt our chemists make them in abundance? who dropped the ball?I want to know,and so do you- so that the problem is nipped in the bud next time it rears its ugly head.
And those who are saying that we go back to our traditional medicine are living in the past. Certainly if the are proven to work use them,but I bet unlike the "scientific medicine" traditional one are not upgraded by research,and new ones invented?
Couple things.... I got curious and zoomed inn... coz I just felt like zooming inn on the pics of the kids.
1. The boy in blue shirt says .... all I want for Christmas is.... ??? I will buy him whatever that shirt says.. if anyone can get his contacts
2. Curious me... what the hell are all these kids doing with cellphones on there hands....
3. My assumption, they have missed a lot in school ( look school age kids) get a flicking book parents read to them.
Go to a kids section where they can if able play... play therapy helps.
#cellphone takeover
It's time for Kenya to rely on traditional medicine. We need to go back to our traditional eating and healing habits. Avoid modern methods of "creating a disease and then creating a pill" to make people slaves of supporting their loved ones. Our government need to have a budget for our cultures, languages, traditional ways of healing and not be dependent on foreign medicine. God give Kenya leaders not politicians. God help Kenya!!