Civil societies pushing for cancer awareness have termed Jubilee and NASA's manifestos a disgrace to Kenyans with the disease.
Groups under
the Kenya Network of Cancer Organizations (KENCO) said the documents do not explain how whichever coalition wins the poll will fight the disease.
They want President Uhuru Kenya and NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga to sign a pledge declaring cancer a national disaster within the first 100 days in office.
“Cancer knows no political affiliations or tribes. It affects the rich and the poor. It is not too late to have all the presidential candidates sign a public pledge to declare cancer a national disaster," said
KENCO national coordinator
Ninda Kangethe.
"This is the only way to demonstrate appreciation for the urgency to galvanise all arms of government to rapidly deploy resources to cancer control."
Organisation chairman David Makumi said the Jubilee manifesto makes a "passing mention" of building a specialised cancer hospital in the next five years while NASA's focuses on universal health care without specifics.
Makumi said cancer is not the only health problem facing Kenya but has the most devastating consequences on people, their families and the socio-economic fabric.
“At the very least, the presidential candidates should have pledged to [make the declaration] and give the country a clear blue print of how they are going to tackle this unfolding tragedy," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Makumi said the entire cancer control community, survivors, advocates and care professionals are greatly dismayed by the fact that neither of the manifestos presented to Kenyans so far has explicitly addressed cancer as an existential threat to the healthcare system.
He noted the disease kills more than 75 Kenyans daily and that more than 100 other Kenyans are diagnosed every day.
"Thousands of others have been reduced to abject poverty by this physically and financially draining disease. By any standard, this is a catastrophe of enormous [proportions] that should be at the heart of all political discourse. Yet none of the presidential candidates has addressed it coherently."
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