When the only radiotherapy machine in Uganda was finally broken beyond repair, the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi (AKUH-Nairobi) stepped up to the challenge to treat desperately ill patients from its fellow African nation.

It announced that it would offer free treatments to as many as 400 cancer patients. Uganda's government said it would cover expenses for the 400 to make the trip. The machine, missing paint and with parts taped on after years of makeshift repairs, was originally donated to Uganda by China in 1995.

“We are committed to working with the Government of Uganda to help save the lives of cancer patients in need of treatment while it works to reestablish its radiation therapy capacity,” said AKUH-Nairobi Chief Executive Officer Shawn Bolouki in a statement. “Our values as an institution dictate nothing less. While we can only treat a small fraction of those requiring care, given our resources and the tremendous need that exists, we will do all we can to help, and we encourage others to follow our lead.”

To make matters worse, a new machine was purchased by Uganda three years ago. The problem is that the bunker to house it has not yet been built, according to the AFP news agency.

The machine that broke down at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) had been the only Cobalt-60 one in the entire country. And it will take several years to get a new one up and running, according to UCI Director Dr. Jackson Orem, explaining the situation in stark detail in an interview with The Observer. To put the challenge in perspective, he noted, UCI receives about 5,000 new cases annually.

When asked if the machine was completely dead he responded, "It’s not true. We are doing all it takes to make sure that we can repair it, of course with the aim that it can still provide some service, as we expedite the process for getting the new one in the country."

As well as getting a new machine, a modern "bunker" for it must be built, he explained, and those plans are ongoing but not without difficulties. "What took long is the design process itself – not the approval. And the design process took long because, first of all, getting the people who can design that type of structure locally is not possible," he told the publication.

"So, we had to get external support. So, there was a consortium of an Indian company and a Ugandan company. Getting that in place took one year, and then getting them to complete the designs is another year. That’s why they took long."

It is perhaps a good thing that efforts are underway to repair, once again, the old machine. While Kenya's help for 400 patients is a welcome contribution, some Ugandan politicians are angered as more than 17,000 others will be unable to receive radiotherapy, according to Tuko.

“Every life matters. How can you tell people that they are going to die?" Muhammad Nsereko of Kampala Central told the online news service.

Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, the state's minister of health, contested this grim assessment. “These patients will first undergo assessment at the Mulago Hospital by our doctors to ensure that those who are badly off are the ones to benefit,” said Baryomunsi told CCTV-AFRICA according to Tuko, “Even when the machine was there then, people were dying because the machine is not a cure. However, I advise the other patients to go for palliative care or use strong painkillers such as morphine.”

As for the plan to get UCI's radiotherapy upgraded and online, Orem said, "I think the key process now, is to expedite the process of getting this new bunker in place. As I speak, today, we are doing the bid evaluation for the contractor. We have very good contractors – three of them – who have expressed interest.

"If we can get them on board and give them the funds that they need, and ask them to expedite the process, I am almost certain that within six months we should be able to have the construction completed. That leaves us with maybe the next six months to install the equipment, and then pretest. So within a year, if everything worked like a clock, we should be able to have the service restored or even taken beyond what we are now having."

AKUH-Nairobi has stepped up to provide such assistance to cancer patients before. Last year, it came to the aid of Kenyan cancer patients, including children, machines at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi broke down. The private, not-for-profit AKUH-Nairobi has two radiotherapy units and six radiation oncologists.

Opened in 2011, the hospital offers a wide range of cancer care. For example, in 2014 and 2015, it conducted free health screening services at 446 camps for 136,000 people. At 135 of these, it provided cancer screening.

It is also the only hospital in East Africa accredited by the U.S.-based Joint Commission International.

In 2015, the facility and its 46 clinic network admitted over 1.3 million patient admissions and visits in 2015.

In 2012, approximately 645,000 new cancer cases and 456,000 cancer deaths occurred in Africa, according to New Vision. The UCI, itself, handles about 44,000 patient days annually.