African first ladies urge upping taxes on cancer-causing products..Egypt moving ahead for early detection of breast cancer

07 / 07 / 2019

health

By Marwa Nassar - -

African first ladies launched a call for a better fight against cancer, urging an increase in taxes on carcinogenic products such as tobacco and alcohol.

The call to action against cancer was made by the first ladies at a meeting held in Niger’s capital, Niamy, to explore ways of addressing the burden of the disease in Africa.

In the meeting’s communiqué, the first ladies urged all stakeholders to back the initiative in the fight against cancer.

“We, the First Ladies of Africa, would like to make an appeal to the international community, to the African Union, to regional and sub-regional organizations, civil societies, governments and all stakeholders to support this initiative to curb non-communicable disease including the prevention and treatment of cancer,” read the communiqué.

The call coincides with a presidential initiative launched by Egypt – the current president of the African Union – for the early detection of breast cancer.

The three-stage initiative is expected to test 28 million women and provide free treatment.

Each of the three stages is set to last for two months.The first phase of the national campaign – which kicked off on July 1 – is conducted by trained and specialized medical committees in 1,030 health units in nine governorates.

The first phase is set to last until August 30, and includes the governorates of Alexandria, Port Said, Beheira, Qalyubia, Damietta, Matrouh, South Sinai, Fayoum, and Assiut.

The second phase – due to be from September 1 to October 30 – will include Cairo, North Sinai, Red Sea, Ismailia, Suez, Kafr El-Sheikh, Menoufia, Beni Suef, Sohag, Luxor, and Aswan.

The third stage will start on November 1, and will include Giza, the New Valley, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Sharqia, Minya and Qena.