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By CORRESPONDENT, VIENNA, Kenya, November 29 – Kenya has sought the badistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to strengthen cancer treatment in its two referral hospitals and extend its services to three other major cities in the country .
This took place while Secretary of the Energy Cabinet, Charles Keter, outlined the country's progress in setting up a nuclear power plant following the publication of the nuclear regulatory bill, last week, in anticipation of a debate in Parliament.
Speaking at a ministerial conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, Mr Keter said that the IAEA had played a decisive role in the establishment of cancer treatment centers at Kenyatta National Hospital (Nairobi) and at the Eldoret Moi Primary Education Hospital.
"We are grateful to the Agency (IAEA) to partner with the government to expand the cancer treatment program at the Moi Reference Hospital. This will alleviate the burden of Kenyatta National Hospital while covering the rural areas of the Rift Valley and beyond, "he told the meeting.
Keter informed the conference, which aimed to address the "current and emerging challenges" in nuclear science and technology, that Kenya was expanding the high-level treatment services of the country's leading killer disease to the world. General Consultation Hospital of Mombasa Coast Province, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. Teaching and Reference Hospital of Kisumu and Nyeri Provincial Hospitals.
"In this context, support for specific hospital equipment and capacity building, particularly for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, is crucial and highly needed," he said. The SC was accompanied by Kenyan National Electricity Board (KNEB) Managing Director, Collins Juma, and the Executive Director of Kenya's power generation company, Rebecca Miano.
At a side meeting with IAEA Director General, Yukiya Amano, Keter spoke of the seriousness of the cancerous disease in Kenya and urged the agency to step in and help out.
"Cancer is on the rise and is a very worrying disease. Cancer patients traveling to India are now equated with medical tourism. The provision of equipment in Kenya will contribute to cancer treatment not only in Kenya but in other countries in the region. As a country, the government is putting in place universal health care and equipping health facilities with the necessary equipment is one of them, "he said.
Amano, pbadionate about cancer treatment with radiotherapy, has described Kenya as one of the IAEA centers in the world and pledged to strengthen support for equipment at the Mombasa, Nyeri and Kisumu Provincial Reference Hospitals .
"Progress in cancer treatment is very important and our nuclear health department is expanding its programs to several African countries. Kenya is one of the centers in Africa and we are happy to help, "he said.
At the ministerial meeting at the International Conference Center in Vienna, Keter badured delegates that Kenya was about to adopt the laws that will guide the establishment of the country's first nuclear power plant to produce electricity. 39 energy for peaceful purposes. The bill on the regulation of nuclear energy, which was approved in August by the Cabinet, he said, was published.
"The government has promulgated and will supplement the legislation, framework and infrastructure necessary to support the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The nuclear regulation bill was released last week and we are going through all the steps required by the agency before setting up a nuclear power plant, "he said.
He revealed that the technical research for the establishment of the nuclear power plant was now at the stage of network and site studies, the evaluation of reactor technology and the implication industrial.
Juma, the KNEB chief, explained that an IAEA team was in the country on mission to badess the identified sites for the establishment of a nuclear power plant. "The IAEA's mission is currently in Nairobi, bringing people to the sites we have identified. That's why we are united by KenGen® (Rebecca Miano), who will be the operator of the plant, "he said on the sidelines of the conference.
Seeking to correct the impression that nuclear energy was confined to deadly weapons, the SC explained that Kenya's nuclear program involved the Ministries of Energy, Health, Agriculture and Water. The regulator of the nuclear program, he said, will be domiciled in the Ministry of the Interior to avoid fraternal conflicts between the ministries concerned.
"The Nuclear Regulatory Authority will be placed under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior. We thought that the Ministry of the Interior would be neutral to avoid conflicts between respective ministries, "he said.
Mr. Keter and his delegation also had talks with IAEA Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation Dazhu Yang and Director of Technical Operations Africa for Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak.
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