Dr. Miriam Mutebi,Consultant Breast Surgical Oncologist at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi has been appointed to co-chair a government taskforce tasked to designan effective cancer management structure in Kenya.She will co-chair the taskforce with the Head of the National Cancer Control Program, Dr. Mary Nyangasi. Other members of the taskforce include Dr. Alfred Karagu the secretary, Dr. Loise Nyanjau, Mr. Benjamin Inoti and Mr. Patrick Mathagu.
The taskforce is mandated with reviewing the institutional, policy and legal framework for cancer management in the country. Assessing prevailing health system capacity to deliver effective cancer control, analyse the actors and stakeholders in the cancer eco-system, among other tasks.
In Kenya cancer is the third leading cause of death after infectious and cardiovascular diseases.According to statistics by Globoscan, Kenya recorded 42,116 new cancer cases in 2020.
Dr Mutebi serves as the chair of the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology, and as a Board of Director in the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) where she represents Africa alongside another representative from Nigeria. She is a Clinical Epidemiologist and Health Systems Researcher and she isthe only female Breast Surgeon in Kenya.
She has also been involved in extensive research geared towards improving the management and treatment of breast cancer patients. In 2019, she pioneered the introduction of, ‘Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator’ (DIEP) flap in East Africa. DIEP is a breast reconstruction procedure that offers hope to breast cancer survivors. The procedure involves harvesting flesh from a breast cancer patient and making a breast for them especially those who have had mastectomy.
