Pathology and oncology in Africa: education and training for the future in cancer research– East African Regional Meeting

Abstract

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will increase globally, with the largest increase being on the African continent. On our continent, projections have indicated that deaths from NCDs will exceed all combined communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional diseases as the most common causes of death by 2030. Hence, the importance of a functional and improved pathology system in the diagnosis of cancer cannot be debated. Recently, the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) organised its East African regional meeting in Mwanza, Tanzania on 25–26 June 2015, with the focus being ‘Pathology and oncology: Education and training for the future in cancer research’. The main themes of the workshop were around improving cancer care and the role of twinning in Eastern Africa, in particular the Mwanza cancer project, telepathology, e-health and biobanking. The outcomes of a 2 day strategic meeting were developing an efficient and effective plan to guide the improvement in pathology training and cancer research in Africa.