• Cancer doctors are desperately required and they should be the main focus before establishing the centres, he said.
• “We need to have specialists on the throat, foot and many other parts of the body to effectively counter the disease,” Nyong’o said on Saturday.
Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has urged the government to focus on research and personnel in the fight against cancer, instead of equipment and facilities.
Cancer doctors are desperately required and they should be the main focus before establishing the centres, he said.
“We need to have specialists on the throat, foot and many other parts of the body to effectively counter the disease,” Nyong’o said on Saturday.
He spoke at a funeral ceremony for former Bomet Governor Joyce Laboso at Koru, Kisumu county.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had announced at a Friday memorial for the governor that state would build 13 cancer treatment centres.
Nyong’o said universities, in collaboration with the county governments, should train doctors to effectively handle the scourge.
He said Uhuru's treatment centres will need experts capable of diagnosing and treating cancer.
Deputy President William Ruto praised Uhuru for making the NHIF cover to include cancer and diabetes since 2015.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka advised the government to invest heavily in research especially on cancer-causing contaminants like aflatoxins.
Kalonzo said cancer can be fought through early screening, especially if detected at stage one.
(edited by O. Owino)