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."

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