Africa-Press – Tanzania. A HEALTH expert has appealed to parents not to ignore early childhood vaccines, as the immune systems for young children are more vulnerable to diseases and illnesses.
A Paediatric oncologist with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) Esther Majaliwa expressed concern on the rising number of children diagnosed with cancer in the region, urging parents to be conscious about the health of their children.
“Statistics show that the num- ber of children suffering from cancer is increasing every year in Kilimanjaro region, something which shows that it is very important to do health follow ups on our children, which includes heeding to the advice offered by the experts,” explained Dr Majaliwa recently, at an occasion to mark the KCMC Zonal Referral Hospital version of the children’s Cancer Month.
The Health facility treated 2,000 children who were diag- nosed with the killer disease, between 2016 and 2021, according to Dr Majaliwa.
She said 54 per cent of those diagnosed were under the age of ten and mostly male.
According to Dr Majaliwa, 43.2 per cent of the children had been diagnosed with Leukemia and Lymphoma.
“This should serve as a wake- up call to parents on the need of being conscious on the physical and mental wellbeing of our chil- dren,” she insisted.
On his part, KCMC Executive Director Gileard Masenga said the establishment of a paedi- atric cancer treatment unit helped the hospital to ascertain the mag- nitude of cancer among young children.
“The establishment of the unit has, to a great extent, helped show how big the problem is in the region,” he said. Prof Masenga further assured that KCMC will continue to improve the environment for the treatment of cancer among children.
For his part, Mayor of Moshi Municipal Council Juma Raibu, urged members of the public not to associate the killer disease with some superstitious beliefs.
“It is important for relevant authorities to continue providing more education to the community on the symptoms of this dangerous disease so that children can be subjected to early treatment once they are diagnosed with cancer. By doing so we will save the lives of many children”, he said.
