Press Releases

The American Cancer Society (ACS) supports the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) with the launch of a comprehensive cancer patient navigation program in Uganda. This is part of a 3.5-year and $370K grant to help UCI implement the program. The ACS has been working with UCI for more than five years on a variety of collaborations and for the last two years, has designed a patient navigation program as a quality improvement intervention for quality cancer care. Patient navigation was first pioneered in the United States in 1990 and continues to be an innovative method of eliminating barriers to health care access. Through the program cancer patients are provided personal guidance to help ensure timely cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. 

Additionally, in 2015 to 2016 the ACS co-developed a suite of culturally and linguistically appropriate cancer education materials with the Uganda Ministry of Health, UCI, and Uganda civil society led by the Uganda Cancer Society (UCS) providing materials in six national languages as a centralized educational tool for the clinical patient navigation team. The UCS is ensuring a timely distribution of these materials to UCI so that all cancer patients have a comprehensive resource to help make important decisions about their treatment planning. 

“The American Cancer Society is committed to reducing disparities in cancer outcomes at home and abroad,” said William Cance, MD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, American Cancer Society. “We are honored to support the introduction of patient navigation to the Uganda Cancer Institute, the sole provider of cancer treatment in Uganda. Low- and middle-income countries already shoulder 70% of the world’s deaths from cancer. It is critical to exchange best practices and invest in building capacity to deliver health equity solutions that will make a positive difference in the cancer treatment journey.”