Uganda receives a new cancer machine

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Uganda will finally replace its old and broken cancer machine with a new radiotherapy machine this week.

According to Uganda's Daily Monitor, the new machine will start operations "soon" and replace the old cobalt-60 radiotherapy machine, which broke down beyond repair on March 27, 2016 after serving the nation for more than 20 years. The old machine was donated to Uganda by the Chinese authorities in 1995.

With the country having only one cancer machine, nearly 2,000 patients in the East African nation were left without proper treatment. Some 400 of the patients were forced to travel to Nairobi, Kenya for better management of the illness.

"The machine is in a warehouse somewhere in Kampala, a container containing its parts will be delivered to Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) on Wednesday and installation is expected to last at least one month," said Dr. Jackson Orem, director of the UCI.

Dr. Orem also disclosed that the radioactive source, which is a sensitive component of the machine, has already arrived at Entebbe International Airport. The machine itself was shipped from the Czech Republic through Mombasa port with the guidance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations body that regulates the use of nuclear and atomic energy.

The machine is said to have been purchased at 642,000 Euros (about 759,000 US dollars) by both the government of Uganda and IAEA.

Procurement of the machine took long due to policy divergence and other factors like changes in the political and technical leadership at the Ministry of Health according to Dr. Orem.