The Chairman of the Pan-African Parliament’s Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has taken Africa’s campaign against cancer to a new level by spearheading efforts to introduce what could become the continent’s first harmonised legal framework on cancer prevention, treatment, financing and research across all 55 African Union member states.
Addressing members of the Pan-African Parliament during the Committee’s statutory sitting, Annoh-Dompreh stressed that the initiative is not merely another policy discussion but the beginning of a continental legislative process that will culminate in the adoption of an Africans Beating Cancer (ABC) Model Law.
According to him, “we are simply preparing to pass a model law on cancer,” describing the exercise as one that will enable every African country to domesticate the legislation to strengthen national cancer control programmes.
His latest intervention comes barely months after he assumed office as Chairman of the Pan-African Parliament’s Health, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, where he pledged to champion model laws to tackle pressing health challenges including cancer, malaria, mental health and the integration of traditional medicine into mainstream healthcare.
The presentation before the Committee painted a grim picture of Africa’s growing cancer crisis. It revealed that the continent currently records about 1.2 million new cancer cases annually, a figure projected to rise to 2.1 million cases every year by 2040 if urgent interventions are not undertaken.
Cancer deaths are also expected to reach 1.4 million annually by 2040, while nearly half of African countries still lack radiotherapy facilities, leaving millions without access to lifesaving treatment.
The presentation argued that the real challenge confronting Africa is not the absence of scientific knowledge or medical innovations, but the absence of enforceable legal frameworks guaranteeing access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Vaccines, screening technologies and effective treatments already exist, yet thousands continue to die because many African countries lack comprehensive legislation to ensure equitable access.
Particular attention was drawn to cervical cancer, where nearly 75,000 African women die every year despite the disease being largely preventable through vaccination and early screening. Childhood blood cancers were also highlighted, with survival rates in wealthy countries reaching about 90 percent, while as many as seven out of every ten African children diagnosed with similar conditions die because of limited access to treatment.
The presentation further disclosed that seven out of every ten Africans diagnosed with cancer eventually die from the disease, compared to much lower mortality rates in developed countries.
Under the proposed ABC Model Law, that mortality-to-incidence ratio is expected to decline significantly through improved prevention, early detection and access to treatment.
Beyond saving lives, the proposed legislation is expected to transform Africa’s health economy.
The document estimates that effective implementation could save more than 60,000 lives every year, reduce avoidable deaths through widespread screening programmes, expand Africa-led clinical trials and keep medical investments, specialised treatment and healthcare spending within the continent instead of forcing patients to seek expensive treatment abroad.
Early adopting countries are also projected to realise economic gains equivalent to between 1.5 and 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product over a decade.
The presentation emphasised that the proposed law has been conceived and written by Africans for Africans, describing it as a uniquely continental solution rather than an imported healthcare blueprint. It stated that the legislation would establish an entirely new legal foundation for cancer care while protecting both present and future generations across Africa.
The Committee was informed that the immediate parliamentary process involves formally receiving and noting the draft legal framework, adopting a motion to debate it during the statutory sitting, and subsequently encouraging individual national parliaments to domesticate the law within their respective legal systems.
The roadmap presented before members indicates that once debated by the Pan-African Parliament, engagements will continue with national legislatures, including the Parliament, as well as health and finance ministries to facilitate implementation.
Regional validation meetings involving African health stakeholders are also expected to refine the framework before broader continental adoption.
The draft legislation was developed under the Africans Beating Cancer (ABC) Model Law initiative by Partners for Patients NGO in collaboration with the Pan-African Parliament’s Permanent Health Committee. It seeks to establish a continent-wide legal framework covering cancer prevention, screening, treatment, palliative care, financing, research, access to medicines, clinical trials and protection of patients’ rights.
