Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s cancer surveillance and cancer control systems are being strengthened as a result the signing of a collaborative agreement signed between the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Vital Strategies a global health organisation.

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) is also a signatory to the agreement. To this end, CARPHA and Vital Strategies recently signed a sub-grant agreement to provide funding support for the project: ‘Using DHIS2 to Strengthen Cancer Registration Data Systems in Low-resourced Countries: From Rwanda to Jamaica’.

The project is funded by Vital Strategies’ Global Grants Program, through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative. Grant funding for the project will run until December 2024.

Funding support is also being provided by the MOHW. The project activities began as early as September 1. Activities included a training workshop to strengthen the capacity of the MOHW’s Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) surveillance team to identify, collect and code data on cancer-based recommended standards.

Details of the project

Twenty-nine persons from Jamaica’s four regional health authorities (RHAs) and four persons from the MOHW participated in the training. They include epidemiologists, NCD coordinators, nursing supervisors, information and communication technology officers, health records administrators and data entry clerks.

Jamaica, which is one of CARPHA’s member states, is the first Caribbean country and second in the world to pilot the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) Oncology module, which was initially developed and implemented by the Rwanda National Cancer Registry.

Under this agreement, valued at US$100,000, the project will improve cancer control by operationalising a data collection and reporting system that will improve the availability of national cancer data, which can be used by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to guide cancer prevention and control strategies in Jamaica.

Project gets full commendation

In commenting on the relevance and importance of the project, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton highlighted that “the current cancer burden in Jamaica, as elsewhere in the Caribbean, is stunning and requires our collective and urgent attention, beginning with our attention to data. Registries are vital. The fact is that there is a prevailing need for local data to guide response, policy development and programme monitoring and evaluation to achieve comprehensive cancer prevention and control”.

He also highlighted that the project is to improve cancer control by operationalising a data collection and reporting system that will improve the availability of national cancer data, which can be used by the health ministry to guide cancer prevention and control strategies locally.

Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the MOHW Dr Simone Spence added: “Cancer registration is critical to informing health promotion efforts and the MOHW looks ahead with great anticipation at the profound impact of the DHIS 2 Oncology module in improving cancer registration in Jamaica.”

CARPHA Executive Director Dr Joy St. John commended the project. She stated: “Surveillance systems are critical tools aimed at improving the early detection of diseases, but cancer registration is different. We collect, store, and analyse data for people who are already afflicted with this disease. Access to population-wide information on cancer incidence is critical for understanding cancer burden; planning and monitoring of national cancer prevention and control programmes; and defining priorities in cancer prevention, treatment and care.”

Dr Magdalena Paczkowski, director of Vital Strategies’ Cancer Registry Program, funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, replied: “Our activities have focused on strengthening human resources and infrastructure to support cancer data collection, technical assistance to inform standard operating procedures and strategic planning, as well as training on cancer registry principles and methods, including using CanReg5.“

This included the new DHIS 2 Oncology Module, created through working with IARC, the Rwanda Biomedical Center, the Rwanda National Cancer Registry, and CARPHA, alongside other partners. This work will now be strengthened through GPP’s support to implement the new module in Jamaica.