Strengthening of Cancer Registry

The Kumasi Cancer Registry was established in 2012, however it has largely been hospital based. The information obtained and improvements performed over the past decade have contributed to improved cancer registration and to a better understanding of the mortality and morbidity caused by cancer in Ghana. However Kumasi requires a more robust registry to confront a range of challenges, from limited human resources personnel to a lack of dedicated office space and basic equipment for work. Furthermore, administrative challenges make collecting data from the city’s different facilities very difficult.

Improving Kumasi’s cancer registry requires an increase in the amount of data collected across all facilities that contribute to the Cancer Registry. Furthermore, the quality of data needs to be improved, including the patient navigation journey through the cancer care continuum.

Dedicated office space has been provided to the registry team as an initial step towards the improvement of the registry and data collection process. The team has been officially employed by the Government of Ghana, providing stability and strengthening the human resources available for the registry.
In parallel, a training workshop has been developed in partnership with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to update the team on best practices for the collection, recording and quality assurance of data. The training has been extended to all facilities that provide cancer care services, in an attempt to raise awareness of the importance of capturing relevant patient information and sending accurate data to the registry.
A monitoring process has been implemented by a select technical group, with the findings and progress presented to the City Executive Committee.