A Key Shift in National Diagnostic Dialogue
The 2nd National Cancer Summit Unveils Key Pillars in the Fight Against Cancer—By Pascal Olulo & Carol Nyaga
The rallying call throughout the summit was clear: intersectoral collaboration and locally generated data are key to sustainable & effective cancer management.
The Pathology Network attended the 2nd National Cancer Summit organised by the National Cancer Institute of Kenya between the 27th and 30th July 2025. The four-day high-level summit united over 1,000 stakeholders and marked a notable shift in Kenya’s national dialogue on cancer towards focusing more on diagnostic coordination and effective communication across the care pathway.
Over the four days, discussions centred on critical pillars in the fight against cancer, including a multidisciplinary approach, community awareness, early diagnosis, care coordination, health financing, strategic partnerships, and digitalisation.
The Conference’s theme, “Uniting Our Voices and Taking Action”, sought to address Kenya’s pressing cancer statistics—over 47,000 new cases and 32,500 deaths annually—by fostering collaboration across sectors, regions and actors to address the prevailing challenges in cancer detection, treatment, and management with urgency and innovation.
The experience broadened our perspective on Kenya’s cancer care landscape and reaffirmed our conviction that intersectoral collaboration is key to achieving sustainable and effective cancer management. Furthermore, the breadth of innovation and best practices showcased from across the country was impressive.
One could only imagine the compounded impact if these efforts were systematically aligned through coordinated national partnerships. It was equally inspiring to learn how leading healthcare firms utilised Spes360, a digital diagnostic infrastructure developed by our own The Pathology Network.
The rallying call throughout the summit was clear: locally generated, high-quality data is foundational to building a responsive national cancer registry. The vision of integrated collaboration between researchers, the Ministry of Health through NCI, county governments, the private sector, and medical technology players is achievable!
