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Dar es Salaam. The Aga Khan Health Institute has signed an agreement with Elekta Company for the procurement and installation of radiation therapy equipment that will better cancer screening and treatment in the country.

The equipment which cost between €4.5 million (Sh10.8 billion) to €5 million (Sh12 billion) will have the capacity to treat 50 to 75 patients within eight working hours.

The agreement, aimed at enabling the institute to acquire one of the world’s most advanced machines, will improve the provision of quality health services to Tanzanians.

The manager for the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam in charge of the Tanzania Comprehensive Cancer Project (TCCP), Harrison Chuwa, said that the equipment will be installed in linear accelerators models.

“As an oncologist, having signed an agreement to purchase the citiscan and radiation machine is like a dream come true,” he said.

“We started with one machine only years ago and later, we added two more machines. In 2018 the number increased to six. The new machine will make it seven,” added Dr Chuwa.

He said that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), one million people are supposed to use one machine, thereby hinting that the country falls short of 50 machines to cater the country’s 61 million population.

According to him, by installing the machine, Tanzania would be the second country in East Africa after Kenya.

For his part, Elekta vice president Feras Al Hasan said that cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, noting that the company was responsible for ensuring that every country has access to modern equipment.

“Elekta will provide the equipment and train local experts, therefore enabling them to offer quality cancer treatment services to citizens,” he said.