Nearly 40,000 new cases of cancer are recorded in Morocco every year

Nearly 40,000 new cases of cancer are recorded every year in Morocco, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), said head of the Rabat-based institut national d'oncologie (public hospital specialized in cancer treatment), Ibrahim Kaddari.

Kaddari told the local Rissalat Al Oumma daily that out of these 35,000 to 40,000 new cancer-affected patients only 8,000 are treated in specialized hospitals, which are few in Morocco.

Some 5,000 patients were treated in the Rabat hospital in 1999, he said.

Deploring the absence of regional specialized hospitals throughout Morocco, he said according to international standards a device for cancer diagnosis must be available for every 100,000 inhabitants. In Morocco, there are only six such devices.

Kaddari also dealt with the high cost of cancer treatment, pointing out that 40% of the budget allocated to drugs treatment is provided by the state, the remaining 60% being supplied by the patients themselves and by national and international associations.

The Rabat cancer hospital boasts a sophisticated equipment but still suffers from the low number of paramedics who hardly covers 50% of needs, Kaddari said. He added that the hospital which trained several foreign physicians has been designated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as one of the best in Africa.