KABUL - Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz on Wednesday said as many as 15,000 people lost their lives in Afghanistan annually to cancer, a disease curable in initial stages.
Speaking at a gathering marking World Cancer Day, Feroz said World Health Organization (WHO)’s statistics showed around 20,000 Afghans contracted cancer each year, with a majority dying.
He said the deadly disease killed eight million people of the total 14 million infected on the global level.
The disease could be controlled by increased cooperation on measures that halted cancer from spreading, awareness about factors and early treatment.
Feroz encouraged the private sector to invest in establishing well-equipped cancer hospitals.
His ministry had initiated efforts in cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to create special centers where cancer could be diagnosed.
He said a special cancer unit was recently inaugurated at the Jamhuriat Hospital but was yet to be furnished with latest equipment. (Pajhwok)