Miriam Mutebi, Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Day3 at last week’s AORTIC 2025 Tunisia asked us by far the hardest question of all:
How do we turn ‘global policy’ into real care, real access, and real change for real African patients?
An unexpected masterclass on one of Africa’s biggest challenges, and opportunities: moving policy from paper… to people. From beautifully written commitments to lived, measurable realities.
The morning’s theme: ‘From Policy to Practice’ kicked off by her Excellency Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu (President Elect Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) reminded us that policy only matters when it becomes actionable, accountable, and anchored in strong national cancer control programs.
- Rwanda’s Lesson to the World: Theoneste Maniragaba shared an inspiring example of successful policy translation: 97% HPV vaccination coverage (one of the highest globally). How? Through integration, insurance and intentionality. Rwanda is a practical demonstration that Africa can deliver excellence at scale.
- Reality on the Ground: Voices from Butaro: Rugengamanzi Eulade, a young oncologist and cancer centre director, grounded the discussion with lived practical realities: stockouts, access challenges, and the day-to-day hurdles of delivering treatment in resource-constrained settings; and the gap we must close.
- Translating Policy to the Clinic: Gladwell Kiarie, President of Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology (KESHO), highlighted how professional associations act as conduits from cabinet decisions to clinical practice, ensuring policies reach the frontline and the patient.
- Civil Society: The Accountability Engine: Cancer advocate Prisca Githuka powerfully emphasized that civil society must continue to hold policymakers accountable, ensuring that people with lived experience sit at every decision-making table.
In between sessions, I also did a quick whistle stop of different stations, including our AORTIC– Africa Journal. I had a chance to meet up with our Editor in Chief, Sulma Ibrahim Mohammed and our publishers, and later visited one of the booths supporting our partnership with World Radiotherapy Day.
Mid morning brought my best session yet, our first-ever Open Town Hall, a dynamic, no-filter conversation on the future of cancer research in Africa, where we asked three fundamental questions: Who needs to lead? What does African cancer research excellence look like in 2035? How do we protect and grow transgenerational learning?
The message was clear: Africa must own its research agenda.
We also introduced our first AORTIC POHER Scholar, a brilliant undergrad med student, Materne Nshuti Kayumba who will rotate across AORTIC special interest groups for two years and help co-chair the Young African Leaders in Oncology group.
Picture 1 with the young scholar
Thanks to Thomas Odeny and Khalid El Bairi who helped moderate this session.”
More posts featuring Miriam Mutebi.
