Minister of State for Health in Charge of Primary Health Care, Margaret Muhanga, has informed Parliament that the Uganda Cancer Institute receives between 170-200 cases of liver cancer per year but between 48-56 are due to the consumption of food contaminated with aflatoxins.

The Minister also told MPs government Shs3.12bn to treat 200 liver cancer patients with each patient’s treatment costing an average of Shs15.6mn annually.

“Majority of these cases present with unrespectable disease (stage 3 & 4) and are treated with a combination treatment. The treatments of choice are lenvatinib and bevacizumab,” she revealed. 

“The average cost of lenvatinib is Shs700, 000 per month and the cost of bevacizumab is Shs2, 200, 000 per month. The patients are treated per month resulting in total cost of Shs15.6mn,” she revealed further.

Adding: “Thus this requires Shs3.12bn to treat 200 liver cancer patients. This is minus other costs such as investigations and supportive treatment.”

The Minister called for collaborations between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to curb the spread of aflatoxins in food produce.

Reacting to the Minister’s submission, Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Committees on Health and Agriculture tasked the Ministry of Health to tackle food contamination using available research.

Julius Karuhanga (Indep., Rwampara East County) said there is need to standardize the testing algorithm for aflatoxins. he Ministry of Health and that of Agriculture should work together to facilitate the work done by researchers, he said.

Mary Begumisa (NRM, Ssembabule District Woman Representative) asked the health ministry to come up with a plan to publicise information on aflatoxins ‘just like you do for other diseases like malaria, because we have not heard it on our radios and other media.’