Fighting Childhood Cancers in Africa Through Digital Communication

Abstract

The global advancement of digital communication and its direct impact on medical sciences is a phenomenon that would remain with humanity for a long time. This is the motivation for this study: “Fighting Childhood Cancers in Africa through Digital Communication.” This qualitative study on how oncologists, paediatric cancer patients and their parents in two countries with state-of-the-art pediatric cancer centers namely South Africa and Egypt as well as two countries which have poor child cancer centers such as Kenya and Nigeria employ digital communication in fighting paediatric cancer fatalities. According to the findings, childhood cancers are rife in Africa because of deficit in infrastructure, lack of adequate qualified personnel, insufficient data and modern research as well as inability to exploit the relevant tools of traditional and new media. The author suggested establishing paediatric cancer facilities, adequate funding of the sector, generation of databases and exchange of information amongst oncologists and the use of media platforms as possible ways of fighting the disease. The study concluded that Digital Communication is an indispensable modern tool for curbing the scourge of childhood cancers in Africa and beyond.