Government urged to include cancer awareness in school curriculum
Written by Lindah Nduwumwami on December 11, 2018
Three organisations involved in the fight against cancer among children have urged government to include a cancer awareness component in the school curriculum. The Uganda Child Cancer Foundation [UCCF], Uganda Cancer Institute together with Children Care about Cancer (3C) said cancer had become common among children making it important that they are sensitised about it. Dr. Noleb Mugisha the head of Comprehensive Community Cancer Programme at the Uganda Cancer Institute said during the 3- day children cancer camp at Gayaza High School that more than 500 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. Addressing the camp, the state minister for Primary Healthcare Dr Joyce Moriku appealed to children to avoid early sex saying it’s one of the riskiest behaviours that can lead to cancer. Ben Ikara of the UCCF said they had reached out to more than 19,500 students so far. He said their target is to reach out to 30,000 students every year because they want to create more awareness among the young generation in schools and help the organisation to do more cancer awareness.
