General Oncology Care in Somalia

AbstractThe aim of this chapter is to provide an update on cancer epidemiology in Somalia as well as local and international responses to the challenges. After the collapse of the central government of Somalia in 1991, the country has plunged into civil war. Since then, Somalia has not had any governmental or non-governmental cancer care services. Currently, Somalia doesn’t have a single cancer center. The country has neither national cancer registries nor national cancer institutes. According to a study done by a Somali cancer specialist at the University of Somalia-Teaching Hospital, and Turkish doctors at Erdogan Hospital, published in seminars in oncology in 2017, the most frequent cancers in Somalia are esophageal, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, liver, breast, skin, thyroid, brain, bone, colorectal, and soft tissue. Somalia is recovering from a devastating civil war that continued for 30 years. This war has destroyed all the health facilities in the country, since then the country has not been able to reestablish the healthcare system. This absence of healthcare system and lack of human and financial resources are the biggest challenges of cancer care in the country. There is only one facility in the entire country where cancer care is given. The future of cancer care in Somalia is bright since more doctors are planning to specialize in cancer and more investors are planning to invest privately in the healthcare sector, especially cancer care. Also, as the Somali government is getting stronger, it is hoped the government will play a bigger role in cancer care in Somalia in the coming years.