Three New Cancer Institutes Become Rays of Hope Anchor Centres in Latin America, Europe and Africa

Within Africa, the NuMeRI facility at Steve Biko Academic Hospital will support the establishment and upgrade of cancer centres across the continent within each country’s respective capacities and infrastructure. For decades,  the Steve Biko Academic Hospital has collaborated with the IAEA on clinical research, education, training, quality assurance activities and the development of professional networks. Its expanded role – both in biomedical research at the global level and in knowledge sharing at the regional level – has been supported by the Agency’s capacity building efforts. As a Rays of Hope Anchor Centre, the hospital will enhance the radiation medicine capabilities of others by fostering multidisciplinary collaboration and advancing medical knowledge. “It is important to realise that no one fails alone [and that] no one succeeds alone as well,” Mike Sathekge, Head of Nuclear Medicine Department at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, said during the ceremony.

“Together with the Rays of Hope Anchor Centres in Algeria, Morocco, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, and Türkiye, the new centres in Argentina, Slovenia, and South Africa will help accelerate progress against cancer by leveraging innovation, best practice and collective experience to close global care gaps”, said May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA Division of Human Health. “For patients around the world, these centres promise a future in which equitable cancer care for all becomes a reality.”