The Ministry of Health in collaboration with the health partners inaugurated Senkatana Oncology Clinic at the event held at Senkatana on Monday.
The Oncology Clinic is intended to relieve cancer patients as well as the government from expensive referral expenses to other countries.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Principal Secretary (PS), Mrs. Moliehi Ntene thanked Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF) for assisting the government in achieving its goal of having an Oncology Clinic.
She said the government remains committed to making sure that cancer patients are well catered for hence the establishment of the clinic.
She, therefore, pleaded with Basotho to fully support the ministry, saying the road is still long but a lot will be achieved with joint effort.
The Director-General (DG) of Health Services, Dr ‘Nyane Letsie said the clinic will be helpful as all government expenses incurred when referring cancer patients to other countries, South Africa and India will be cut.
She said for a patient, the government spend over M100, 000 which is money that will be saved now that the Oncology Clinic is functional, adding that all cancer types will be treated though for now only breast cancer treatment is running while the government is preparing to have other machines to accommodate all cancer types.
Dr Letsie commended the government and its partners for making Basotho’s dream of having a cancer facility come true, saying the facility will accommodate every Mosotho for cancer treatment.
She said besides having the equipment, they also managed to find an Oncology, adding that there are more trained staff including Village Health Workers (VHW), and with the help of the National University of Lesotho (NUL) they will be able to research more about cancer types and how best they can be dealt with.
The President of Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF), Mr. John Damonti said they have been working in Lesotho since 1999 when HIV/AIDS took its toll to devastate Lesotho, and since then, they have had successful tasks done.
He said as BMSF, they are committed to making the Senkatana Oncology Clinic a success, adding that they are pleased to note that Basotho are no longer dying of HIV, and that should be the case with cancer. He said they are now shifting the focus to fighting cancer to an extent that no one will be left behind.
Source_ LENA 24/10/2022
