A Yemeni official on Tuesday said about 20,000 people are reported as the new patients with cancer a year, two days before the authorities launch the national campaign to support and care of the patients.
Ahmed Shamlan, secretary general of the trustees council of the national cancer control foundation, said there is a shortfall with regard to registering the exact number of those who are affected by cancer a year, but that can be estimated at about 1200 people in one million of the population a year. "This means more than 20,000 new cases are registered a year, but the dead cases are still unclear," he said.
Since the foundation was established in 2003, it has received about 80,000 cases, he said.
In a press conference on the campaign, which will be launched next Thursday, Shamlan said the foundation has to double its efforts to help all cancer patients, especially as the new campaign comes amid a difficult situation.
"Yemen is experiencing exceptional circumstances affecting the patients, but we must do our best to help them".
The campaign will include activities to raise awareness about cancer, its reasons and how to combat it, and will rally public and official support to the cancer patients in the country, he said.