SPEECH BY H. E. MARGARET KENYATTA, THE FIRST LADY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE 9TH STOP CERVICAL, BREAST AND PROSTATE CANCER IN AFRICA (SCCA) CONFERENCE PARTNERS BREAKFAST AT VILLA ROSA KEMPINSKI HOTEL, NAIROBI.

Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,Good Morning,It gives me great pleasureto be in such an important gathering, where we chart the way forward in the fight against cancer in Africa.My office with the support of the Government of the Republic of Kenya and in conjunction with PrincessNikkyBreastCancer Foundation will host the 9thStopCervical Breast and Prostate Cancer in AfricaConference(SCCA) at the KICC, Nairobiwhose theme will be"Investing to save lives: The Role of Public-Private Sector Partnerships".The Conference will bring together First Ladies, Parliamentarians, Ministers of Health, Health Professionals, Scientists,Advocatesagainst cancer, Corporate entities and other relevant stakeholders.Let ustalk about CANCER.In Kenya, cancer ranks third as a cause ofdeath, after infectiousand cardiovascular diseases.It affects men, women and children alike.

We are losing 60 Kenyansper day to various versions of the disease nearly 3 people each hour. These figures need to shock us and more importantly, they need to serve as a wake up call to each one ofus no one is safe from the disease.CANCERS arekilling more people globally than HIV, TB and Malaria combined.Akey challenge in fighting the diseaseis late diagnosis; over 70% of the cases are detected in their far too late making management and recovery almost impossible. Lack of awareness among our people, inadequate health facilities where diagnosis and treatment can take place and thehigh cost of treatment are all prohibitive factors.The 9th(SCCA)conferencecreatesa platform where stakeholders from various sectors can come together and share experiences in the fight against CANCER.As the host nation of this Conference,we must show our commitment to fighting cancer, a disease thatisboth acrippling andwasteful affliction that slowly kills itsvictims.Cancer is a burden onfamily resources and the nations healthcare infrastructure.Cancerdoes not discriminate and has therefore affected us all in one way or the other. Through our kin, friends and countrymen, cancer has dealt us all a heavy blow. The young and old are all fair game in itssights and gender is not a factor in its ruthless wake.My fellow Kenyans,As apart of the global family,we must make hard decisions and say, enough is enough.

We mustcollectively fight this monster head on. We must do sothrough a combination oflifestyle changes and otherinterventionsaimed at driving progress incancer research.This illness has had a heavy toll on our society and this largely due to dietary and environmental causesaccording to available medical data.We have strayedfrom sound dietary regimes in which we consumed whole, nutritious and balanced foods in the past and have now made unwholesomeand unhealthyfoods a mainstay of our diets.Dear Kenyans,We must now returnback to ourrootsand re-introduce into our diets healthy foods such as sweet-potatoes, arrow-roots,yams, cassavaandboiled foods.We also need to keep our bodies moving with moderate to heavy exercise. We must stay vigilant through regular check-ups.Fellow Kenyans,The national government recently purchased a large amount of medical equipment that will be very helpful in the fight against cancer.Our people will greatly benefit when theequipment is fully deployed in our counties as it will ease the congestion at the few referralfacilitiesthat have these lifesaving equipment.I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the9thSCCA conferencescheduled from 19thto 21stJulyat the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi.It is crucial that we, as a continent, do all that we can to beat cancer before it becomesoverwhelminglyunmanageable.We anticipate that the 9thSCCA conference will contribute to strengthened collaborations in the fight against cancer and lead to better partnerships in cancer control for better health outcomes.It is now my pleasure to invite all stakeholders and partners to contribute generously towards support of the 9thSCCA conference.I THANK YOU.